Matthew Perry reportedly planned to start a foundation to support those struggling with substance abuse prior to his death.
The “Friends” star — who was a recovering addict — wanted to help others overcome drug and alcohol dependency, People reported Monday.
According to the outlet, Perry’s friends and loved ones still hope to turn his dream into a reality after the actor died in an apparent drowning on Saturday. He was 54.
The “Whole Nine Yards” star had previously founded a men’s sober living facility called Perry House, which he ran from 2013 to 2015, per People.
In his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry revealed that he had been in and out of rehab 15 times throughout his decades-long battle with substance abuse.
The actor further detailed his addiction to Vicodin following a jet ski accident in 1997, admitting that he was taking up to 55 pills a day at one point.
While promoting the bombshell tell-all last year, he told the New York Times that he spent nearly $10 million attempting to get sober over the years.
He also recalled having a near-death experience at age 49 when his colon burst from opioid overuse.
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At the time, he spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital.
“The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” he told People in October 2022. “I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”
He explained he was one of five people hooked up to life support that night and the others didn’t make it.
“My therapist said, ‘The next time you think about taking Oxycontin, just think about having a colostomy bag for the rest of your life, and a little window opened, and I crawled through it and I no longer want Oxycontin anymore,’” he said.
Just days before his death, the actor was spotted grabbing food in Los Angeles with a friend.
Celebrities and former co-stars have shared tributes mourning Perry over the past few days, including his “Friends” castmates.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc wrote in a statement to People Monday.
“There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”
Source: NewsFinale
