In the immediate wake of Matthew Perry’s death last month, the first words from his five Friends co-stars seemed heart-wrenchingly appropriate. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer released a joint statement a day after the news broke, saying they were “so utterly devastated”, and were “going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss”. During the show’s heyday, they had, in a very rare move for a TV cast, always negotiated as a team, pushed for equal salaries six ways; this was a cast that had always acted in unison.
This week, the five actors shared their own individual tributes to Perry, and they were just as moving as you would expect. Aniston shared a recent text Perry had sent her. Cox and Schwimmer reminisced about favourite memories of their co-star. Kudrow shared a poignant unseen photo of the two of them. LeBlanc managed to crack a bittersweet joke. The stars’ deep-felt love for their former collaborator is palpable. For the legions of fans who were in their own way also devastated about the actor’s death at the age of just 54, these tributes are both healing and painful to read. “Spread your wings and fly brother. You’re finally free,” wrote the Joey Tribbiani actor, in words that are sure to have reduced many readers to tears.
