How Matthew Perry’s shocking death is a wakeup call on the stress of being a celebrity?

Matthew Perry is dead. At 54, Chandler Bing has left us, countless legions of fans of Friends- the folks that all of us could relate with. He had over 200 million USD in the bank, chose to appear in films and TV shows as per his wish, and had come clean on a lifelong battle with mental health and addiction in his memoir, Friends, Lover and the Big Terrible Thing (2021).  As the reason for his death has been ‘deferred’ by LA police authorities worldwide, Perry’s death has shocked people. His Friends co-stars have poured their hearts out on social media, as tributes pour in. Co-creators of the sitcom Marta Kauffman and David Crane and executive producer Kevin Bright mourned his death as , “ It all seems impossible,” on soial media. In true Friends’ episode style, an obituary from the iconic show’s makers read, ““This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.” Classmate and Canadian PM Justin Treudeau has also shared his grief on social media. Perry was not just popular onscreen as the adorable Chandler Bing, who would always mess up while expressing his love for Monica Geller (Courtney Cox), and make regular human errors while navigating life in a metropolis. People in his close orbit testify to his niceness. Friend Gywneth Paltrow, whom he dated before he got his Friends break, recalled spending a ‘magical summer’ together and stated, “I hope Matthew is at peace at long last. I really do.” Maggie Wheeler, who played his on-screen girlfriend Janice on the show, recalled the time she spent with him off camera fondly, as did his onscreen mother on the show,  Morgan Fairchild. Fairchild’s point is valid. Perry ’s life plays out like a classic on-the-edge chaotic celebrity existence that almost feels like fiction. Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry, was an alcoholic, he claims. He had his first drink at 14, and would end up drinking as many as six vodka tonics with his dad. When he was filming for ‘Fools Rush In’ (1997) he hurt his back in a ski accident. To continue work, a doctor recommended vicodin, an opioid that is now revealed to be highly addictive. Perry’s gradual slide into addiction began at this point, oscillating between pain medication and alcohol. He also dated high profile women, like actor Julia Roberts and his crush on Jennifer Aniston who never agreed to go out on a date with him. His relationships and flings, though not long lasting, never seemed to be fractious. It was his lifestyle that rode high on painkillers and alcohol that kept pushing his body to the extremes. A few incidents in the book are both eye opening and shocking. Perry didn’t respond to medication prior to a surgery in Switzerland as he should have, because of his body’s dependence on drugs. Similarly, in 2018, he nearly died of a burst colon. He had to undergo emergency survery for 7 hours with almost no chances of survival. Each time around, he finds that doctors and medical staff pushed themselves hard to save him because they of the positive influence of his Friends character, Chandler. To him, the show saved his life.   This was triggered by his opioid addiction as these medicines cause severe constipation. While addiictions were always present in different degrees, like the point where he simply doesn’t recall 3 months of filming friends, as he admits, it was after the show wrapped up and he decided to live under the radar that his dependance on intoxicants gradually multiplied. Perry estimated that he went through detox 65 times and went to rehab 15 times and recounted nearly dying after he was hospitalised for a perforated bowel in 2018. Through his lifetime, Perry has been to rehab 65 times. It took him years of intervention to come to terms with his mental health issues which led him to an addiction spiral in his teenage. Matthew Perry ’s death should serve as a wake-up call. As stars and success go, it doesn’t get bigger than his achievements- the Friends cast was the first to get paid 1 million USD per episode. Beyond this series, he continued to act in decent films and TV shows like The Good Wife, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Good Wife and 17 Again. He also appeared in the recent popular film, Don’t Look Up ( starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Jennifer Lawrence. Perry was also a successful real estate investor around Los Angeles. His last Instagram post features him swimming in a sauna, a moment that looks serene but perhaps conceals a highly conflicted mind. He wrote a tell-all memoir to awaken the world against the dangers of concealing or ignoring mental health issues and addiction to substance. His death serves as a grim reminder of living life in today’s high pressure times, and hopefully, will awaken empathy and awareness around these issues.