Matthew Perry’s Friends co-stars were seen on Friday consoling each other outside the church where the 54-year-old was laid to rest.
Jennifer Aniston, 54; Lisa Kudrow, 60; Courteney Cox, 59; and David Schwimmer, 57, arrived as a quartet – all dressed in black suits and somber as they prepared to say their last goodbyes to Perry at Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles.
They were joined outside the church after the simple hour-long ceremony by Matt LeBlanc, 56, and were pictured in conversation with other well wishers.
His tearful mother Suzanne Morrison, 84, and Dateline journalist stepfather Keith, 76, were both at the private event, as was his father John Perry, 82. Keith Morrison was one of the pallbearers.
An onlooker said, ‘Ms Aniston was one of the first to arrive. She kept herself to herself. This is a high profile gathering.’
The cemetery is opposite Warner Bros Studios, where Friends was filmed for 10 seasons, and is the final resting place of a galaxy of Hollywood stars – among them Carrie Fisher, Bette Davis, Stan Laurel, Buster Keaton, INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and Anne Heche.
Jennifer Aniston (left), Courteney Cox (second left), David Schwimmer (center), Lisa Kudrow (second right) and Matt LeBlanc (far right) are seen on Friday at Matthew Perry’s funeral
Jennifer Aniston (at the back), Courteney Cox and David Schwimmer (center) and Lisa Kudrow (front) are seen on Friday at Forest Lawn Church of the Hills, in Los Angeles
The three women of Friends and David Schwimmer are seen entering the church to attend Matthew Perry’s funeral on Friday
Perry’s stepfather Keith Morrison, with the gray hair served as a pallbearer
I’ll be there for you: Friends stars attend Matthew Perry’s funeral
Tributes have flooded in for Friends star Matthew Perry after he was found dead on Saturday
Mourning family members seen leaving Matthew Perry’s funeral
The service ended with a rendition of Peter Gabriel song ‘Don’t Give Up’ which includes the lyrics: ‘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.’
An onlooker said: ‘There was not a dry eye in there. There were a lot of tears and laughter. Only close friends and family spoke.’
After the service, Perry was buried in a dark wooden coffin in a family-only ceremony.
Crowds of black-clad mourners stood around outside the church after the ceremony.
Some were seen embracing and comforting each other. Many wore dark sunglasses, to shield their eyes from the bright Californian sun.
Other stars buried in beautiful parkland include Brittany Murphy, Paul Walker, Buster Keaton, INXS rocker Michael Hutchinson and actress Anne Heche who died suddenly last year following a car accident.
The hearse carrying Matthew Perry’s body is pictured arriving at the cemetery on Friday
Perry’s coffin is pictured being carried into the church on Friday
The 54-year-old’s stepfather Keith Morrison was one of seven people to carry the casket
A van is seen arriving at the cemetery ahead of Perry’s funeral
A long line of cars are seen parked outside the cemetery in Los Angeles
Friends and family of Matthew Perry are seen arriving for the funeral on Friday
Keith Morrison, Matthew Perry’s stepfather, is seen on Friday leaving the church after Perry’s funeral
The hour-long ceremony was described as simple, concluding with a Peter Gabriel song
Mourners leave the site after Friday’s funera
Friends and family of Perry leave the site after the service
Matthew Perry’s mother, Suzanne, and stepfather Keith Morrison are seen on Friday morning
Heartfelt: Tributes were left outside Matthew Perry’s Los Angeles home, including Friends memorabilia
Tributes: Fans flocked to his house to leave floral tributes on the day of his private funeral service
On Monday, Aniston and the rest of the cast – Courtney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow – issued a statement describing their shock and sadness.
‘We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,’ the cast said in a joint statement on Monday.
‘There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.
‘In time we will say more, as and when we are able.
‘For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.’
Perry’s cause of death remains unconfirmed, but initial toxicology reports found that there was no meth or fentanyl in his system when he drowned.
Mourners are seen outside the church in Los Angeles on Friday
Perry, 54, died on Saturday, leaving the showbusiness world in shock
The church in Los Angeles has played host to a long line of celebrity funerals, from Stan Laurel’s to Carrie Fisher’s. It is unclear whether Perry indicated his final wishes
Mourners arrive at the ceremony on Friday in Los Angeles
Throughout his life, Perry had been open about his struggles with drugs and alcohol.
The common narcotics were not found in Perry’s system during initial tests, according to a TMZ report. But more in-depth testing is underway and would show if the beloved actor had any prescription medication in his system.
When investigators responded to Perry’s home, they did not find any illegal drugs, but found prescription medication that was properly labeled and kept in storage bottles.
In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry wrote that after his colon exploded in 2018, he was prescribed opiates that he deemed insufficient to deal with his pain, prompting him to turn to street dealers to supply him with potentially fentanyl-laced OxyContin.
‘The street pills were something like $75 per pill, so I was giving the guy $3,000 at a time, many times a week,’ he wrote.
Matthew Perry’s shock death in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home on Saturday prompted an outpouring of grief
Initial toxicology tests did not show fentanyl or meth in Perry’s system, but more in-depth testing is underway. When police responded to Perry’s home (pictured) they found prescription medication that was properly labeled and stored
Matthew Perry remembered: Friends fans pay tribute to beloved actor
After an initial investigation, the Los Angeles County coroner has deferred giving a cause of death, which may take weeks to determine. Those who knew him maintain that Perry was clean and sober at the time of his death.
Perry wrote in his memoir that he had spent $9 million trying to get sober
Perry wrote at the beginning of his million-selling memoir: ‘Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.’
On Sunday, Perry’s book was ranked No. 1 on Amazon, supplanting Britney Spears’ memoir.
As he filmed the sitcom-hit Friends in the 90s, many people were unaware of the struggle Perry had with addiction and an intense desire to please audiences.
‘Friends was huge. I couldn’t jeopardize that. I loved the script. I loved my co-actors. I loved the scripts. I loved everything about the show but I was struggling with my addictions which only added to my sense of shame,’ he wrote in his memoir.
‘I had a secret and no one could know.
‘I felt like I was gonna die if the live audience didn’t laugh, and that’s not healthy for sure. But I could sometimes say a line and the audience wouldn’t laugh and I would sweat and sometimes go into convulsions.’
Perry wrote: ‘If I didn’t get the laugh I was supposed to get I would freak out. I felt that every single night. This pressure left me in a bad place. I also knew of the six people making that show, only one of them was sick.’
Perry’s Friends co-stars said they were ‘devastated’ by his death and that they had been more like family than cast mates
After an initial investigation, the Los Angeles County coroner has deferred giving a cause of death, which may take weeks to determine. Those who knew him maintain that Perry was clean and sober at the time of his death
He recalled in his memoir that co-star Jennifer Aniston confronted him about being inebriated while filming.
‘I know you’re drinking,’ he remembered her telling him once.
‘We can smell it,’ she said, in what Perry called a ‘kind of weird but loving way, and the plural ‘we’ hit me like a sledgehammer.’
A fellow member of Perry’s recovery program told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview Tuesday: ‘Matty wasn’t drinking. He was a big part of our AA community. He was attending meetings, speaking at meetings and was working with a handful of newcomers.
‘He had a sponsor and was a sponsor. He seemed to be doing well.’
The insider said the actor had been focused on helping others battling addiction and had recently expressed interest in sharing his story through public speaking events.
‘Matty said he wanted to return to universities and speak about alcoholism. That was his gift. He could speak so well and motivate people,’ the source added.
‘It was important for him to reach the younger generation and spread his Don’t Give Up message. He really lived by those words.
Remembering the late actor and comedian Matthew Perry
