The iconic comedy actor, beloved by millions as warm-hearted, wisecracking Chandler Bing in the hit TV sitcom, was buried six days after being found dead in his home hot tub at the age of 54.
Four of his Friends co-stars – Jennifer Aniston, 54, Courteney Cox, 59, Lisa Kudrow, 60 and David Schwimmer, 57 – arrived together, sombre-faced and dressed in black, for a simple, hour-long service at LA’s Forest Lawn Cemetery.
They were later joined outside the church – just a stone’s throw from the Warner Bros. studios where they all worked together on the show for ten years – by Matt LeBlanc, 56, who played Chandler’s dumb but loveable roommate Joey.
Cast members had released a joint statement last week saying: “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family.”
Director Jim Burrows, who helmed more than a dozen Friends episodes, revealed he broke the sad news of Perry’s apparent drowning death in text messages to the three female stars and said: “They were destroyed. It’s a brother dying.”
Perry’s divorced parents John Perry, 82, and Suzanne Morrison, 84, were among mourners at the Friday afternoon service and his stepfather, TV journalist Keith Morrison, 76, was a pall bearer.
The actor’s final resting place at Forest Lawn will be among a galaxy of Hollywood greats including Carrie Fisher, Bette Davis, Stan Laurel, Buster Keaton, Lucille Ball and Debbie Reynolds.
Other stars buried in acres of rolling parkland include Brittany Murphy, Andy Gibb, John Ritter, INXS rocker Michael Hutchence and actress Anne Heche.
Perry was buried in a dark wooden coffin in a family-only ceremony after Friday’s private funeral service, which ended in church with a rendition of Peter Gabriel’s classic Don’t Give Up.
It was, said friends, one of Perry’s favourite songs with lyrics that mirrored the depths of despair he often felt during a lifelong battle with addictions to alcohol and prescription painkillers.
One mourner said there was “not a single dry eye” when Gabriel’s poignant words played in the church. The song says: “No fight left, or so it seems. I am a man whose dreams have all deserted. I’ve changed my face. I’ve changed my name. But no-one wants you when you lose.”
No narcotics were reportedly found in Perry’s body but a spokesman for the LA County Coroner’s Office confirmed yesterday that further in-depth toxicology tests are still being carried out to show if he had any prescription drugs in his system.
Source: NewsFinale
