Matthew Perry’s family says it is honoring his wish by supporting efforts to help people affected by addiction—not letting his fame for Friends be the only thing people remember. In a PEOPLE interview published on the first anniversary of his death, stepfather Keith Morrison described the family’s support for the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada and the U.S.-based Matthew Perry Foundation, and emphasized the need for support that continues after rehabilitation.
What was Matthew Perry’s dying wish?
Keith Morrison told PEOPLE that the family understood Perry’s wish to be remembered for helping other people, rather than only for his fame on Friends. Morrison, Perry’s stepfather and a Dateline correspondent, described that purpose as a way the family could carry his legacy forward.
“We’re not unique,” Morrison said, explaining that the family knows its experience is shared by others who have lost someone to overdose. He said Perry’s wish was to be remembered for helping people “more than his famousness for Friends.” His words express the family’s understanding of Perry’s wishes; the interview does not cite a separate source for that account.
How is the family carrying that wish forward?
The interview identifies two organizations the family supports: the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada and the U.S.-based Matthew Perry Foundation. Morrison pointed readers in the United States toward the U.S. foundation and readers in Canada toward the Canadian foundation.
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Morrison said the Canadian foundation is focused in part on the period after rehabilitation, when people may need continuing help and a support system. The interview does not establish the organizations’ current programs, eligibility rules, donation channels, or comparative results, so check each foundation’s official information for those details.
Why did Morrison emphasize support after rehab?
Morrison described rehabilitation as necessary, but said people can be left to cope without enough support once treatment ends. He said recovery may require help for a year, two years, or three years, and characterized that continuing support as a major need—not as a guarantee of any particular outcome.
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He also recalled that Perry had left rehab and appeared to be doing well before the family discovered he had secretly resumed using. That is Morrison’s account of his stepson’s experience, not clinical evidence about recovery generally.
What did the family say about Perry’s final days?
In the October 28, 2024 PEOPLE interview, published one year after Perry died on October 28, 2023, aged 54, Morrison and Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, shared personal recollections. PEOPLE reported that Perry died following an accidental overdose, describing the cause as the acute effects of ketamine.
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Suzanne Morrison recalled that shortly before his death Perry showed her new houses, told her he loved her and was happy to be with her, and said, “I’m not frightened anymore.” She said the remark worried her in retrospect. It is a family recollection, not a diagnosis or proof that Perry anticipated his death. Keith Morrison also recalled Perry seeming at peace and reaching out to family in his final days; that, too, is his personal account.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Morrison meant by saying the family is “not unique”
Morrison acknowledged that Perry’s celebrity made the family’s loss unusually visible, but said it did not make them alone in experiencing it. He described them as one family among many affected by overdose loss. His broad phrase about “millions and millions of families” was a personal characterization in the interview, not a cited population statistic.
The account here comes from Liz McNeil’s PEOPLE exclusive, republished by AOL on October 28, 2024: read the interview.
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