Friends creator Marta Kauffman says she can't get her head around Matthew Perry's death and that he seemed in good spirits during a recent phone call.
Perry, who shot to fame playing wise-cracking character Chandler Bing on the hit US sitcom in the 90s, had been open about his struggles with alcohol and substance abuse in the past.
He died on October 28 in an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home aged 54 with an official cause of death yet to be determined and officials now awaiting the results of toxicology tests.
Writer and producer Kauffman, 67, remained firm friends with Perry after casting him in Friends almost three decades ago and last caught up with him two weeks ago.
Speaking to the National Broadcasting Company's (NBC) Today programme, she said that their last chat a fortnight ago had been "great".
"He didn't seem weighed down by anything," she said. "He was in a really good place, which is why this seems so unfair."
This sentiment was echoed in the statement she along with Friends co-creator David Crane and executive producer Kevin Bright put out following the news of Perry's passing.“We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing. It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives,” they wrote [via Deadline].
“He was a brilliant talent. It’s a cliché to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us. We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment – not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart.
“We send all of our love to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.”
Meanwhile, Friends fans have been leaving flowers and messages outside the New York block of flats used as a location for the sitcom.
