Friends co-stars pay tribute to Matthew Perry one year after his death

Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston remember Friends co-star Matthew Perry on the first anniversary of his death

Matthew Perry. Picture: Brian Ach/Invision/AP

Courteney Cox has paid tribute to her Friends co-star Matthew Perry on the one-year anniversary of his death.

Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the hit US sitcom, died on October 28 last year at the age of 54 from the “acute effects of ketamine”.

Cox, 60, who played Perry’s on-screen wife Monica Geller, remembered the late TV and film star in an Instagram post captioned: “Missing you today and always.”

The Scream actress shared a photo of her with Perry, and another of them with the rest of the Friends cast – Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow.

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Aniston, 55, also shared a selection of photos of Perry to her Instagram account on Monday and tagged the Matthew Perry Foundation, which was set up in the wake of the star’s death to help those struggling with addiction.

During his life, Perry was open about his battle with substance abuse and addiction – and also set up a sober living facility for men with similar issues.

Following his death, the Friends cast said in a joint statement to US publication People that they were “utterly devastated”.

Five people were charged over his death after an investigation unearthed a “broad underground criminal network” of people who “took advantage” of the US actor when he fell back into addiction in autumn last year.

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Perry had been seeking treatment for depression and anxiety when he became addicted to intravenous ketamine, turning to allegedly “unscrupulous doctors who saw Perry as a way to make quick money”, US attorney Martin Estrada said.

Ketamine is a sedative that can be used as a recreational drug, as well as to treat depression and pain management.

Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, recently said he appeared to have a “premonition” about his death on one of the last times they spoke.

In an interview with NBC’s morning talk show Today to mark the anniversary of his death, Ms Morrison said: “He came up to me and he said ‘I love you so much and I’m so happy to be with you now’.

“It was almost as though it was a premonition or something. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I thought ‘How long has it been since we’ve had a conversation like that? It’s been years’.”