Matthew Perry died of the “acute effects of ketamine”, the Los Angeles county medical examiner said on Friday.
The Friends star was found “unresponsive in the pool at his residence” on 28 October and pronounced dead at the age of 54. The medical examiner ruled that the manner of death was an accident.
Perry, who rose to stardom playing Chandler Bing in the US sitcom Friends, was reportedly receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety before his death, Variety reported.
A postmortem examination concluded Perry died from the “acute effects of ketamine” while contributing factors included “drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine” – which is used to treat opioid use disorder.
The actor had been open about his struggles with addiction and sobriety – and also set up a sober living facility for men with similar issues.
In his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, released in 2022, Perry wrote about how he became an alcoholic as a teenager and developed an addiction to pain medication following a 1997 jet skiing accident. His addictions took a major toll on his life, Perry wrote, at one point putting him in a coma and costing him about $7m to get sober.
Following his death, a foundation was set up in his name to help those struggling with addiction.
Jennifer Aniston, Perry’s Friends costar, said the actor was doing well before his death.
“He was happy. He was healthy. He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape. He was happy – that’s all I know,” she told Variety. “I was literally texting with him that morning, funny Matty. He was not in pain. He wasn’t struggling. He was happy.”
