Lauren Graham reflects on friend Matthew Perry’s ‘really happy year’ prior to his death at 54 and says there was ‘such joy in being around him’

Lauren Graham said Matthew Perry had a ‘really happy year’ prior to his sudden death in October.

The Gilmore Girls alum, 56, appeared on a CBS Mornings segment on Thursday, where she spoke about the Friends star, who passed at the age of 54.

‘This last year, he was so proud of the book he wrote and of how many people it touched,’ she shared referring to Perry’s 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

‘It was a success that gave him a level of happiness that I hadn’t seen in him for a really long time, so that’s a nice memory.’ 

‘That’s something to be thankful for, and again, the book really meant something to him, so it was a really happy year for him.’ 

Reflecting: Lauren Graham, 56, said her friend Matthew Perry had a ‘really happy year’ prior to his sudden death in October at the age of 54; they are seen in 2008

The actress added that she is ‘still in shock’ over Perry’s passing.

‘I am still in shock. I mean, it’s a really tragic loss, and he leaves his beautiful work behind,’ she shared. 

Reflecting on their friendship, she concluded: ‘No one made me laugh as hard. Just tears, streaming. There was just such joy in being around him and being his friend.’ 

Graham and Perry first worked alongside each other in Aaron Sorkin’s series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip back in 2006. 

They went on to co-star in the 2008 film Birds of America, and later reunited for an episode of Perry’s The Odd Couple, which ran from 2015 to 2017.

They maintained a close friendship in the following years.

Perry even had a photo of them together in his memoir, captioned ‘Me and the beautiful Lauren Graham.’

He previously spoke about their friendship in a fan Q&A for his show The Odd Couple, where he called her ‘one of my favorite people.’

‘We have great chemistry when working together and it’s fun to work with a close friend,’ he added.

Proud: ‘This last year, he was so proud of the book he wrote and of how many people it touched,’ she shared on a CBS Mornings segment on Thursday about his memoir

Good year: ‘That’s something to be thankful for, and again, the book really meant something to him, so it was a really happy year for him,’ she shared referring to Perry’s 2022 autobiography, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing; the duo seen in 2008

Nice memory: ‘It was a success that gave him a level of happiness that I hadn’t seen in him for a really long time, so that’s a nice memory,’ she said

‘Shocked’: The actress added that she is ‘still in shock’ over Perry’s passing: ‘I am still in shock. I mean, it’s a really tragic loss, and he leaves his beautiful work behind’

Friends and co-stars: Graham and Perry first worked alongside each other in series ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’ in 2006. They went on to co-star in Birds of America (2008), and later reunited for an episode of Perry’s The Odd Couple (pictured) which ran from 2015 to 2017 

Graham also discussed their friendship in her own memoir, Talking As Fast As I Can, where she shared that the pair almost dated at one point.

‘The only bright spot, dude-wise, was at an event where I met Matthew Perry. He became my longtime Friend Who I Almost But Never Exactly Dated, or FWIABNED.’

Perry’s tragic death occurred on October 28, when he was discovered underwater in his home’s hot tub by his assistant, who had left his home briefly to pick up some items for him.

Earlier this month, Perry’s death certificate was released. Though the actor is believed to have died of accidental drowning, his cause of death has so far been deferred while awaiting the results of a toxicology report.

According to police, only medications that Perry had a prescription for were found in his home, but the actor had previously been open about his years-long struggle with addiction and drug abuse.

Perry was laid to rest in a simple hour-long service at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles on November 3, in a ceremony attended by his Friends costars.

Perry had reportedly played a two-hour game of Pickleball — a sport similar to tennis but played on a smaller court — earlier on the day of his death, before sending his assistant out on an errand. When they returned, Perry was said to be found unresponsive in his hot tub.

His body was taken from his house by the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office hours after his death.

The star laid bare the height of his terrible drug and alcohol addiction battle in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. 

His book: The star laid bare the height of his terrible drug and alcohol addiction battle in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing 

Gone too soon: Perry’s tragic death occurred on October 28, when he was discovered underwater in his home’s hot tub by his assistant; he is seen in 2016

Deferred: His death certificate was released earlier this month. Though the actor is believed to have died of accidental drowning, his cause of death has so far been deferred while awaiting the results of a toxicology report; he is pictured in April 2023

Perry also revealed that his colon ruptured as a result of his opioid addiction when he was 49.

Doctors gave him only a two percent chance of survival and he was in a coma for two weeks followed by months more in the hospital.

Perry required 14 surgeries to help repair all of the abdominal damage, and he admitted to having gone to rehab 15 times over the years in hopes of kicking his drug addiction.

Perry famously starred as Chandler Bing in the popular sitcom Friends, alongside Jennifer Aniston as Rachel, Courtney Cox as Monica, Matt LeBlanc as Joey, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe and David Schwimmer as Ross. The show ran for 10 seasons from 1994 until 2004. 

The actor never married and ended his engagement to Molly Hurwitz, a talent manager, in 2021.

He dated several well-known actresses including Julia Roberts and Lizzy Caplan.

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