54. You’ll remember that number from my very first blog entry last November. It’s the age my friend died – suddenly. Speaking of – suddenly – actor Matthew Perry died – unexpectedly. Or, according to a free audio sample of his novel that I listened to today, expectedly.
I was 21 when Friends first aired. Legal to drink in the US and the flashbacks of way too many Grasshopper’s at The Hilltop bar to prove it.
Looking back to when the show was still on the air, there was something about waiting a week with anticipation of the primetime Thursday lineup. I watched the show fairly religiously. When I visited California in the summer of 1999, I toured the Warner Brothers lot and had the opportunity to sit in the sound stage where Friends was filmed. Being August, there were no live tapings, but it was cool to see it in person. The Vegas set was still active at the time.
When you watch a show faithfully for 10 seasons, the characters feel like they are part of your life. In fact, I saw my friends and I in those characters.
Joey is my friend B. Not in the food obsession, low IQ, or good with the ladies department – none of us were in fact – but throw on some glasses, swap out Italian for Greek, the dark lengths of hair dangling over Joey’s eyebrows for a buzz cut, and replace How you doin’ with I am penis man, and samsies.
I’m Ross. Complete with the Casiotone keyboard and quirks, including the time I chose to engage in a discussion with the lap dancer my friends got me for my birthday in Montreal – much to their chagrin – rather than her getting naked. There was the ‘way too much gel in my hair thing’, too.
Chandler is my friend C. He is witty and sharp, and another reason why B is Joey, is because a lot of C’s one-liners are directed at him. Although, I’m the one who nobody knows what I do for a living. C looks like Chandler in a way too and like the rest of us, our love lives were often DOA.
All of us are loyal, friends-to-the-end kind of guys. Our closeness is what solidifies this comparison most and man, do we have some pucks to the face and pivot stories to share of our years together.
I’m sure many saw the Friends cast and their own pals, within these characters, too.
I remember where I was and who I was with when I watched the series finale. I’ve enjoyed the show in syndication many times over, and have copies of the entire series on DVD. When the reunion special came out, I purchased a membership to the streaming service who had rights to the show, for one month, and then canceled it. I wasn’t going to miss the moment fans the world over had anticipated for almost two decades
As I watched bits of past interviews and read a few tributes, I learned a few things about Matthew’s life beyond Friends from his vast acting credits, his life-long struggle with alcohol and drug addiction, to his philanthropy work, including his desire to help others who struggled with addictions through the rehab center he had opened – Perry House – which ran until 2015.
Matty hoped to be remembered for his philanthropy more than his craft. I hope to learn more about his life beyond acting in the months ahead.
Rest easy, our friend. Thanks for being there for us, too.
