Frederick M. Brown / Stringer
Matthew Perry’s Autopsy Complete: Cause of Death ‘Deferred’ Pending Toxicology Results
Matthew Perry’s autopsy is complete, with his cause of death “deferred” pending toxicology results, according to the medical examiner.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to People on Sunday, October 29, that an autopsy was completed, but that more testing is needed before a cause of death can be determined.
The actor, best known for playing Chandler Bing on Friends, was just 54 years old when he died due to an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home on Saturday, October 28.
The LAPD released an official statement about the tragic death over the weekend, noting that the actor was “discovered by a witness unresponsive in his jacuzzi” at around 4 p.m.
“The Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to the scene and pronounced Perry deceased. Due to the celebrity status of Mr. Perry, detectives from Robbery-Homicide Division responded to the scene and conducted a preliminary investigation,” the statement read. “Although there were no obvious signs of trauma, the official cause of Perry’s death is pending the coroner’s investigation.”
According to dispatch audio obtained by TMZ, a first responder could be heard saying they were responding to a “drowning” at the home. Matthew’s assistant reportedly made the emergency call.
Five days before his death, the Friends alum posted what would become his final photo on Instagram. In the photo, Matthew is sitting in a hot tub – likely the same one he died in from the apparent drowning.
“Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good?” the Fools Rush In actor captioned the image. “I’m Mattman.”
The actor was open about his struggles with substance abuse, admitting he once took up to 55 Vicodin a day and weighed only 128 pounds. Matthew began to struggle with alcohol addiction at age 24 – the same year he was cast on the hit sitcom.
“Not only do I have the disease, but I also have it bad,” Matthew wrote in his bestselling 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. “I have it as bad as you can have it, in fact. It’s back-to-the-wall time all the time.”
Matthew even predicted that his addiction would one day end his life.
“It’s going to kill me,” the Screen Actors Guild Award winner wrote in the November 2022 book. “Even on good days, when I’m sober and I’m looking forward, it’s still with me all the time.”
Throughout the Emmy nominee’s struggles, his Friends castmates were by his side. They were “patient” and “understanding,” Matthew wrote about his costars in his memoir.
“It’s like penguins. Penguins, in nature, when one is sick, or when one is very injured, the other penguins surround it and prop it up. They walk around it until that penguin can walk on its own. That’s kind of what the cast did for me.”
None of Matthew’s five main Friends costars – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer – have publicly responded to the actor’s untimely death as of publication.
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