Actor Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine in an accident, authorities said Friday.
Perry, 54, died on October 28 at his Pacific Palisades home.
The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office specified the cause of Perry’s death in a statement released Friday.
“Contributing factors in Perry’s death include drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine (used to treat opioid use disorder). The manner of death is accident,” the statement said.
On the day of Perry’s death, first responders went to a home in Pacific Palisades based on a 911 call at 4:07 p.m. about a “water emergency” of an unknown type, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Perry was found unresponsive in a pool at his home, according to the medical examiner ‘s office.
Perry was best known for his role as Chandler Bing, one of the key cast members on “Friends,” NBC’s generation X sitcom from the ’90s. Perry, who played a statistical analyst on the show, was known for his sarcasm and witty one-liners.
The show was immensely popular, dominating prime time. It ran for 10 seasons, from 1994 to 2004.
Perry struggled with alcohol and drug use, and had multiple stints in rehab. In his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry told a harsh reality of addiction.
It was a stark contrast from the joy he brought to his adoring fans.
In the memoir, Perry addressed his alcohol use, his addiction to Vicodin following a jet-ski accident, and almost dying in 2019 after his colon burst because he abused opioids.
In the book, Perry said be began abusing substances at 14, and landed the role on “Friends” a decade later. Fame then increased his dependency on alcohol and drugs. At one point, according to the memoir, he took nearly five dozen pills a day. His weight fluctuated from 128 pounds to 225 pounds.
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Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
