Matthew Perry, the star of “Friends,” died at the age of 54 on October 28, 2023. Found unconscious in his jacuzzi, his death was caused by taking too much ketamine.
Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the series Friends, was found unconscious in his jacuzzi, in his home in Los Angeles, on October 28, 2023. His sudden death, at the age of 54, shocked his fans around the world, who cried an actor they appreciated so much. Friday, December 15, the Los Angeles County forensic medicine office indicated that the actor’s death was caused by “the acute effects” of taking ketamine, reports Libération. However, according to the same source, the actor’s death was caused by other factors: “drowning”, “coronary heart disease” and the “effects of buprenorphine”, a medication used to treat drug addiction. opioids.
According to the report from the forensic medicine office, “the main fatal effects would come from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory failure.” According to information from Le Monde, people close to Matthew Perry indicated that the actor was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy. It was an experimental treatment to treat depression and anxiety. However, the levels found in his body were high and did not correspond to his last treatment.
The level of ketamine found would have been “enough to cause him to lose consciousness and loss of posture and ability to stay out of the water,” said Dr. Andrew Stolbach, a toxicologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, who reviewed the report. autopsy for the Associated Press agency. Additionally, buprenorphine, found at therapeutic levels in the actor’s blood, may have contributed to the respiratory problem, according to the autopsy.
On the day of Matthew Perry’s death, no trace of criminal acts was found, nor the presence of drugs. Authorities had found anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants and medications to treat lung diseases. The actor had revealed that he suffered from serious addiction problems with painkillers and alcohol for which he underwent detoxification treatment 65 times, he revealed in his memoirs published in 2022.
He had undergone several operations due to his addiction problems. He underwent a seven-hour operation in 2018 after a gastrointestinal perforation. He was then placed in a coma for two weeks and remained recovering in hospital for five months. Following this experience, Matthew Perry confided: “I should be dead”, in the introduction to his memoirs. The actor had undergone fourteen stomach operations.
Known for his role in the legendary sitcom Friends, he played Chandler Bing, one of six characters alongside Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Monica and Ross. The series offered ten seasons to many fans around the world, broadcast between 1994 and 2004 on the American channel NBC.
The cast of Friends reacted to the death of Matthew Perry in a joint press release to the Times on Monday, October 30: “We are all absolutely devastated by the loss of Matthew,” reacted his colleagues from the cult sitcom, Jennifer Aniston (Rachel) , Courtney Cox (Monica), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Matt LeBlanc (Joey) and David Schwimmer (Ross). “We were more than colleagues. We are family,” they wrote. The actors were present at Matthew Perry’s funeral, which took place in private.