Matthew Perry (1969-2023)
Filed under the name Matthew · October 3, 2026
Matthew Perry was beloved for 'Friends,' a show I never much watched myself, being more of a Westerns and old movies guy, but what actually made me want to write about him is what he did in his later years: he became an outspoken advocate for addiction recovery, opening a sober-living home for men and sharing his own story honestly to help others get treatment. I've known good men, guys I worked alongside for decades, who fought that same fight and didn't always win it, and I have real respect for anybody willing to be public and honest about a struggle like that instead of hiding it behind a comfortable image. It would've been easier for Perry to just let the sitcom fame carry his whole legacy. Instead he used his standing to try to actually help other people going through what he went through. That kind of honesty, especially from someone famous, takes more guts than most performances ever do.