The family of late actor Matthew Perry has opened up about his passing an anniversary after his death. Various family members appeared with Today‘s Savannah Guthrie to make their first televised, in-depth interview. The family also revealed how they are honoring Perry, all while hoping to help others.
Matthew Perry’s Mother, Stepfather, & Sisters All Appeared
Members of Perry’s family appearing in the interview included his stepfather, Keith Morrison of Dateline fame, his mother Suzanne Morrison, and three of his sisters, Caitlin, Emily and Madeline Morrison. While talking with Guthrie, they shared what they believed were the factors in the actor’s death.
One of Perry’s sisters, Madeline, suggested that her brother might not have been aware of his relapse. The Friends star was taking the anesthetic for therapeutic reasons following a book tour. Matthew started taking doses of the drug falling a period of sobriety. As she shared, “I don’t even know if in his mind he had relapsed.”
Perry’s family announced that they wanted to honor him by helping others suffering from addiction. They hope to accomplish this through the new organization, the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada. The foundation is distinct from its U.S. counterpart, which was made a few days following the actor’s death in 2023.
Although Perry spent much of his adult life and had a successful career in the United States, the actor grew up in Ottawa, Canada. As Caitlin shared, “Canada was very important to him. I think that he was very important to Canadians. It’s kind of a gift both ways. It’s a gift to get to serve Canadians. It’s a gift to keep him around.”
Caitlin, who serves as the foundation’s executive director, shared that her brother “made it a big focus of his life to help other people, to encourage other people to say, ‘I need help.’ He tried to make people see that that was a brave thing.”
The Family Also Talked About The Five People Charge In Matthew’s Death
For her part, Emily shared that, “When someone came and asked him for help, he would drop everything and do it. No matter where he was in life.”
Perry’s mother Suzanne shared that, “I’m a very lucky woman but there was one glitch, there was one problem that I couldn’t conquer it. I couldn’t help him.” It was this feeling that helped inspire her to help her daughter Caitlin with the foundation.
“The one thing I have to learn — (and it’s) very hard to — is you’ve got to stop blaming yourself. Because you don’t understand what your child or what your husband or wife is going through. And you’ve got to stop, because it tears you up.”
Caitlin wanted to let viewers know she understands how toilsome dealing with an addiction can be. As she shared, “It can be a hopeless thing, and it wasn’t just Matthew. I hear it from people all the time now — that it’s a hopeless thing to be in that place where you’re in a constant battle between wanting to be free (of addiction) and your brain and your body are trying to rope you back in.”
As noted by Today, Perry’s mother Suzanne was also “thrilled” over five people being charged in connection to her son’s death. Keith added that, “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 — they are now on notice. It doesn’t matter what your professional credentials are. You’re goin’ down, baby,”
Did you see Matthew Perry’s family on Today? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest TV and celebrity news.