Kathleen Turner pays tribute to Matthew Perry: ‘He had a good heart’

Kathleen Turner is among the latest to pay tribute to the late Friends star Matthew Perry, who sadly passed away on Saturday (29 October) aged 54.

Turner had played the parent of Perry’s Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom Friends, Helena Handbasket. Handbasket was a transgender woman who was referred to by Chandler as “father”.

Speaking to People, Turner said that it had been “at least ten years” since she bumped into Perry, but that he was a hard person to forget.

“He had a good sense of humor and a good heart. he liked other people, which, to me, is terribly important, especially for an actor,” she told the magazine.

Turner recalled one run-in she had with the late actor, when he came to see her perform in a play in New York.

“He came to see one of my Broadway shows and he came backstage,” she recalled. 

“When he saw me, he yelled out, ‘Hey dad’ and everyone thought it was pretty cool. I think it was for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”

On the rest of the Friends cast, she added: “I can’t imagine the pressure those guys lived under being a worldwide phenomenon. It must have been overwhelming.”

To this day, Turner says she is still linked to Perry when she is recognised in public.

She shared: “I met somebody last night and she said, ‘Aren’t you a movie star?’ I said, ‘Yeah, but before your time.’ And she said, ‘Well, where would I know you from?’ and I said, ‘Chandler’s dad.’ She said, ‘Oh, my God!’”

Turner is among the many voices in the entertainment industry who is mourning Perry’s sudden shocking death.

On Monday (30 October), Perry’s Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer issued a joint statement on Perry’s passing.

“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” it reads.

“There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

“In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

Perry was reportedly found unresponsive in a hot tub at his house on Saturday. The late actor’s post-mortem examination was inconclusive, and officials are awaiting the results of toxicology tests. 

Just last year, Perry released a memoir about the height of his fame and his past struggles with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.

In the book, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry shared that he had spent most of his life in rehab and estimates that he spent about $7 million on getting clean.

The actor went to unimaginable lengths to achieve sobriety, which he spoke of proudly during the rollout of his memoir.

During his book tour, Perry dedicated his platform to helping others who might be struggling with addiction like he did. He did so through his speaking events, through his brutally honest memoir, and through turning his Malibu home into a men’s sober living facility called Perry House.

Speaking to Q with Tom Power last year, Perry spoke about how he’d like to be remembered for the work he did to help others, not just for his work on Friends.

“I’d like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker,” Perry said. “

And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That’s what I want.”

“When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want [helping people get sober] to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.”