LOS ANGELES, Nov 4 — Actor Matthew Perry, who died last Saturday at age 54, was laid to rest yesterday at a Los Angeles cemetery in a service attended by relatives and castmates from the hit 1990s television sitcom Friends, show business media reported, citing photographs.
Mourners gathered at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles, less than a mile from the Warner Brothers studio where the show was filmed. It is also the final resting place of numerous Hollywood A-listers including Michael Jackson, Lucille Ball and Elizabeth Taylor.
Perry, who played wise-cracking Chandler Bing on Friends from 1994 to 2004, was found dead in his Los Angeles home, generating an outpouring of grief from fans and fellow celebrities.
The five surviving co-stars of the show paid tribute on Monday to their fallen castmate in a joint message lamenting his death as an “unfathomable loss.”
Media including TMZ and the New York Post’s Page Six reported yesterday's event, posting long-distance and aerial photographs of people in attendance.
All five Friends co-stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer — were there, TMZ said.
Page Six said Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry, and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, were also there.
In all, about 20 people dressed in black attended and gathered around a burial plot, TMZ said.
Forest Hills did not respond to a Reuters request for confirmation.
The Friends co-stars issued a joint statement on Tuesday, saying they were “utterly devastated by the loss,” adding that they would have more to say in time.
The cause and manner of Perry’s death are to be determined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, following completion of an autopsy with toxicology tests.
Perry’s death came one year after publication of his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which chronicled his decades-long struggle with addiction to prescription painkillers and alcohol. At the time, Perry said he had been sober for about 18 months.
Also on Friday, a foundation in Perry’s name was launched to support people struggling with addiction. The Matthew Perry Foundation “will honour his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible,” according its website.
The website leads with a quote from Perry that says, “When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned — I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.” — Reuters
