Shannen Doherty and Matthew Perry.Photo:Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic, Jerod Harris/Getty
Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic, Jerod Harris/Getty
Shannen Dohertyis paying tribute to her former costar and friendMatthew Perry.
Doherty, 52, spoke about her “lifetime” of friendship with Perry in an emotionalInstagram postafter the actor — who was best known and celebrated for his role as Chandler Bing onFriends— wasfound dead at a Los Angeles-area home on Saturdayin an apparent drowning. Perry was 54.
Sharing a throwback photo of herself with Perry, Doherty wrote: “We were a gang way back. We all grew up together going to the Formosa, North and constantly laughing. Matt, Roger, David, Roxana. We played dare and Matt had to say ridiculous things to girls at the bar. We just always had fun and supported each other.”
Doherty spoke about her friendship with Perry in a tribute post on Saturday.Shannen Doherty /Instagram
Shannen Doherty /Instagram
In the photo the actress — who is currentlybattling stage 4 breast cancer— shared, she and Perry smiled as they sat on a bench together with another friend.
“You would always find us all together in a booth speaking in our own made up language. And yes, Matt always had THAT sense of humor,” she continued in her heartfelt message.
Doherty — who starred alongside Perry in an episode ofBeverly Hills 90210in 1991 — also revealed in her tribute post to the actor that the pair once went on a date in Malibu, as she shared more about their long friendship.
“Matt and I had a date and it was on Valentine’s Day. He wanted to get a reservation at a restaurant in Malibu but couldn’t so my dad got the reservation for him,” Doherty shared.
“We went and he talked about my dad’s Irish persuasiveness the majority of the night. Our friendship spanned a long time. A lifetime really. I know many are hurting, especially our little gang.”
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Perry played tennis ace Roger Azarian opposite Doherty’s Brenda Walsh and the rest of the 90210 gang in episode 19 of the first season ofBeverly Hills 90210back in 1991.
Three years later, the actor would appear in his breakout role as Chandler Bing onFriends, which ran for 10 seasons up until 2004.
Perry died aged 54 on Saturday.Noam Galai/Getty
Noam Galai/Getty
As well as Doherty, many other friends and costars have reacted to the tragic news of Perry’s death and paid tribute to the late actor, includingFriendscostarsMorgan FairchildandPaget Brewster.
Fairchild, who played Perry’s character’s mom in the hit sitcom shared an emotionalpost on X(formerly known as Twitter), where she wrote, “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my ‘son’, Matthew Perry. The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock. I’m sending love & condolences to his friends & family, especially his dad, John Bennett Perry, who I worked with on Flamingo Road & Falcon Crest. #RIPMatthew”
Brewster also honored Perry on the social media platform, in a post where she described him as “lovely” and urged her followers to read his memoir,Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
“I’m so very sad to hear about @MatthewPerry,” Brewsterwrote on X. “He was lovely to me on Friends and every time I saw him in the decades after. Please read his book. It was his legacy to help. He won’t rest in peace though.. He’s already too busy making everyone laugh up there.”
According toTMZ, first responders were called in for a cardiac arrest at the L.A. residence on Saturday. The outlet also reported that Perry was found in a jacuzzi at the home and that no drugs were found and no foul play was involved.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told PEOPLE that officers responded to a call at Perry’s address regarding the death of a male in his 50s. The deceased individual’s identity was not confirmed.
Representatives for Perry did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
source: people.com
