Lisa Kudrow thanks Matthew Perry for his 'open heart' in a moving tribute to late co-star
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Lisa Kudrow has paid a tribute to her close friend and co-star Matthew Perry who died at the age of 54 on October 28.
The 'Fools Rush In' actor died after he drowned in a jacuzzi in his home in Los Angeles, according to People.
His funeral was held on November 3 and was attended by his 'Friends' co-stars Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc.
View this post on Instagram
Lisa Kudrow recalled the beginnings of 'Friends' in her tribute to Matthew Perry
Kudrow took to Instagram to pay tribute to Perry and began recalling the beginnings of their sitcom which was filmed from 1994 to 2004.
"Shot the pilot, Friends Like Us, got picked up then immediately, we were at the NBC Upfronts. Then… You suggested we play poker and made it so much fun while we initially bonded. Thank you for that," Kudrow wrote.
View this post on Instagram
"Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached and tears poured down my face every day."
"Thank you for your open heart in a six-way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of 'talking,'" she added.
Lisa Kudrow thanked Matthew Perry for 'showing up at work' when he was not well
Speaking about Perry's battle with addiction during the filming of their show, Kudrow wrote, "Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant."
"Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have. Thank you for trusting me," she added.
View this post on Instagram
"Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you. Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew," the post concluded.
Lisa Kudrow wrote the foreword for Matthew Perry's memoir
Kudrow and Perry's friendship grew over the years even after the filming ended in 2004.
The foreword for Perry's memoir 'Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing' released in 2022 was written by Kudrow.
In the foreword, she called him a "whip-smart… charming, sweet, sensitive, very reasonable and rational."
View this post on Instagram
"Truly, I wasn’t exactly sure how Matthew was doing,” Kudrow said of Perry's struggle which he kept as a "secret," even from her.
"Over those years I didn’t really try to intervene or confront him, because the little I knew about addiction was that his sobriety was out of my hands."
"And yet, I would have periods of wondering if I was wrong for not doing more, doing something,” Kudrow explained why she "focused on Matthew" and not his addiction.