Friends creator urges fans to remember Matthew Perry as 'hilariously funny' man
Matthew Perry died at the age of 54 in October last year
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Friends creator Marta Kauffman has urged fans to remember Matthew Perry as "a man who was hilariously funny" following the latest developments surrounding his death.
Perry died in October last year following a ketamine overdose with authorities finding his body in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
Earlier this week, multiple arrests were made and five people were charged in connection with his death.
Two doctors and Perry's personal live-in assistant were among those charged.
The Department of Justice confirmed that Jasveen Sangha and Dr Salvador Plascencia faced charges, while assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, Erik Fleming and Dr Mark Chavez were charged separately, according to People.
Perry suffered addiction issues throughout his time filming Friends, which Kauffman and co-creator David Crane witnessed firsthand.
Marta Kauffman co-wrote Friends and Matthew Perry's character Chandler Bing
GETTY
"By the time we became aware of it, we were already a family on a lot of levels," Crane said of Perry in a new interview.
He went on: "There was a point where we said to him, 'Do you want to stop [being in the show]?' And he was adamantly like, 'No, this is really important to me.'"
Kauffman echoed during their chat with the Times: "He is the one I had the most contact with.
"About two weeks before [he died] he and I were FaceTiming and he seemed really good."
Matthew Perry: Five people were charged in connection with the actor's death
GETTYThe Friend creator then reeled off her plea for fans, urging them not to simply remember him as "a man who died".
She explained: "Two things come to mind [about how to celebrate him]: one of them is to donate to drug treatment centres — let’s fight the disease.
"And the second way is to watch Friends and remember him not as a man who died like that but as a man who was hilariously funny and brought joy to everybody."
Kauffman isn't the only person to speak out following the arrests as Perry's step-father Keith Morrison said in a statement: "We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously.
“We look forward to justice taking its course and we’re grateful for the exceptional work of the multiple agencies whose agents investigated Matthew’s death.
"We’re hoping unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs will get the message."
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All of Perry's Friends co-stars issued tributes to the 54-year-old shortly after his death.
Lisa Kudrow, for instance, penned: "Shot the pilot, Friends Like Us, got picked up then immediately, we were at the NBC Upfronts. Then… You suggested we play poker AND made it so much fun while we initially bonded. Thank you for that.
"Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY. Thank you for your open heart in a six way relationship that required compromise. And a lot of 'talking.' Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then, being completely brilliant.
"Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you. Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew." (sic)