Matthew Perry‘s family marked the first anniversary of the “Friends” star’s death by advocating for his addiction foundation Monday and weighing in on the ongoing investigation into his death.
In an appearance on NBC’s “Today,” Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, his stepfather and “Dateline” correspondent, Keith Morrison, and the actor’s three sisters said that in life Perry focused on helping other people and encouraging them to say they need help.
“He tried to make people see that that was a brave thing,” said sister Caitlin Morrison, executive director of the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada.
The family announced the Canadian arm of the foundation earlier this month to address the impact of addiction by funding research and “providing post-treatment support living with substance abuse disorders.” Perry was born in the U.S. but raised in Canada, moving to L.A. to be with his father, John Perry, when he was 15.
They previously founded the Matthew Perry Foundation of the U.S. just days after the actor was found dead in the hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home. Trace amounts of ketamine were found in his stomach, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
In August, Perry’s live-in personal assistant, two doctors, an alleged drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen” and another man were charged with providing ketamine that led to the actor’s death. U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada said that the defendants “took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction to enrich themselves.” The actor had been undergoing ketamine infusions for depression and anxiety, but was also using the drug unsupervised and had become addicted, according to prosecutors.
His mother said she is “thrilled” that there’s been some accountability in his death.
His stepfather said, “What I’m hoping — and I think the agencies that got involved in this are hoping — that people who have put themselves in the business of supplying people with the drugs that’ll kill them, that they are now on notice. That it doesn’t matter what your professional credentials are. You’re goin’ down, baby.”
The Emmy Award winner’s struggles with addiction were noticeable during his 10-season run on NBC’s “Friends” in the 1990s, and he further opened up about his addiction struggles in his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.” Around the time of death, Keith Morrison said, the actor appeared to him to have been sober. He knew that Perry had undergone treatment but not that it “turned into something that he couldn’t control.”
Sister Madeline Morrison said she wasn’t sure if even Perry had realized that he relapsed.
Suzanne Morrison on Monday also grieved her own limitations in helping her son with his addiction issues.
“I’m a very lucky woman. But there was one glitch, there was one problem that I couldn’t, I couldn’t conquer it. I couldn’t help him,” she said, but added, through tears, “You’ve got to stop blaming yourself because it tears you up.”
“What he taught the world is that no amount of money will cure an addict,” Keith Morrison said. “It needs something else. That’s what we’re trying to do” with the foundation.