Photo Credit: Getty Images
As the iconic sitcom "Friends" marks its 30th anniversary, the celebrations are tinged with a sense of loss due to the absence of Matthew Perry, who played the character Chandler Bing. Perry died in October 2023.
In a recent interview, the show's creators, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, along with executive producer Kevin Bright, shared their reflections on this milestone and Perry's absence. Kauffman remarked, "It's a huge loss. It does make the 30th a little fraught." She continued, "He made us laugh every day—David always said he was the funniest man in the room."
Perry's openness about his struggles with addiction was well-known, and Bright acknowledged this in his comments. "He had been fighting the good fight for so long," Bright said. "It really did feel like from the reunion that he had found some peace."
The creators also reminisced about the early days of "Friends" and the unique chemistry among the cast members. Kauffman recalled a memorable moment, saying, "When the six of them got on stage together, I got a chill up my spine and thought, 'This is something special'."
Jennifer Aniston, who portrayed Rachel Green, shared a personal memory of Perry. "Me and Matthew were getting lunch together, and we knew Lisa was getting her hair colored so we ran into the hair salon, and I snuck up—she was in the sink, hair bowl—and I took the nozzle and just started washing her hair."
In addition to celebrating the show's legacy, Kauffman urged fans to honor Perry's memory by supporting causes he cared about. "Donate to drug treatment centers—let's fight the disease," she told The Times. "The second way is to watch Friends and remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybody."
David Crane summed it up best: "He made us laugh every day." As the world celebrates three decades of "Friends," Perry's legacy as the beloved Chandler Bing will continue to live on.
