By Owen Quinn author
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Matthew Perry once said that “There’s nothing better than a world where everyone’s trying to make each other laugh.”
And in the wake of his death that’s all I can see. The laughter and joy he brought to the world through his performance as Chandler Bing on the ten year run of Friends. What’s flooding back to me is all the Chandler moments that kept us entertained and his Odd Couple double act with Joey. I can hear Janice’s laugh, see the fear when he dated one of Joey’s sisters but couldn’t remember which, in bed with Monica in London, losing baby Ben on the bus, his transgender father, the duck and taking in a new roommate.
His sarcasm influenced the world and they fell in love with him. We all took on his mannerisms when dealing with our everyday lives and inwardly became our version of Chandler. Or we used something he had said in one of the episodes to make our point.
With the reruns, millions still do the Chandlerisms so it’s hard to accept that while we are all revelling in happy memories and moments from the show, Perry saw it through very different eyes. He saw his pain, his addiction and with every season what addiction or pain he could pinpoint. While he revealed all this in his recent book Friends, Lovers and a Big Terrible Thing., he also went public, speaking about his pain to help others. He was the master clown to us with his sharp timing and quick wit but behind the laughter was a deep pain. I believe that when he brought it out to the public, he saw just how loved he really was regardless of anything else. His humour never faltered even when discussing his addiction.
Like Robin Williams and Paul O’Grady, when the world thinks about Matthew Perry they will smile at all the joy he brought and today amid all those tears of sorrow, there will be equally be as many tears of laughter as we watch him in all his glory in Friends.
Rest easy sir because you were and always will be loved.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 
This is another very sad reminder of how painful the lives of celebrities can be. Friends has been a cherished TV show for some members of my family. But it was Matthew’s guest appearance on Beverly Hills 90210, ironically as a youth who is suffering from severe mental health issues, that was where I first noticed him and for personal reasons will probably remember him most for.
Thank you for this article. R.I.P., Matthew.
LikeLiked by 2 people
So true.
LikeLiked by 1 person