Matthew Perry’s loved ones — including stepdad Keith Morrison — are speaking out one month after the “Friends” star’s death.
The late actor’s family released a statement about the Matthew Perry Foundation in honor of Giving Tuesday, a day for championing and partaking in philanthropic efforts.
“It is important to us as a family to honor Matthew’s legacy,” the statement read, via Entertainment Tonight. “The potential that the Matthew Perry Foundation has to help those suffering with this disease is something we are proud to bring to the world.”
The foundation was launched on Nov. 3, just days after Perry died at age 54 of an apparent drowning on Oct. 28. The organization is to help those struggling with their own addictions.
Morrison shared the sentiment on his social media account Monday.
“This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different. And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday,” the “Dateline” host wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Do what you can; he would have been grateful.”
Morrison married Perry’s mom, Suzanne Perry, in 1981. He gushed about his stepson during an interview with People in 2020.
“He’s one of those people who always is the center of the room for a reason, and it was so as a kid. On the hockey team, I used to take him off to his hockey games on Saturday mornings. It was like Matthew and the hockey team. He was the one who scored all the goals. He was the guy. The same on the tennis court. He was extremely, extremely good on the tennis court and very intense. He’s an intense, talented, focused character,” Morrison said. “He’s very bright. That was always the case as he was growing up.”
Regarding his role as Chandler Bing on the show, Morrison said Matthew’s success didn’t surprise him.
“He was at a stage where [he was questioning] if this acting thing was going to work or not. Then suddenly, boy did it ever. A million things have sprung from that, but him being selected for a role like that does not surprise me one bit,” he continued. “It matched his particular sense of humor precisely, whether they wrote that for him knowing what he was like or whether he adapted it more for himself, probably a combination of the two. But that character is Matthew. Yeah, and it always has been him. He’s just a talented soul, a smart guy.”
He added: “We love having him around.”
Morrison is listed as the informant who provided details for Perry’s death certificate. The certificate states that Perry died at 4:17 p.m. at his California home.
Perry was unresponsive at the scene by the time first responders arrived. His official cause of death is pending toxicology reports, but initial toxicology reports found that the star did not have meth or fentanyl in his system at the time of his death.
The “Fools Rush In” actor was buried in the Forest Lawn cemetery in Hollywood Hills, which is located across from where he filmed the beloved series for 10 years from 1994 to 2004.
Former “Friends” castmates Jennifer Aniston, 54, Lisa Kudrow, 60, Courteney Cox, 59, David Schwimmer, 57, and Matt LeBlanc, 56, were all in attendance.
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