Nov 3 (Reuters) – Actor Matthew Perry, who died on Saturday at the age of 54, was laid to rest at a Los Angeles cemetery on Friday, attended by relatives and actors from the hit 1990s television sitcom “Friends,” the show’s commercial media. Photographs are quoted.
Mourners gathered at Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, less than a mile from the Warner Bros. studios where the show was filmed. It is also the final resting place of numerous Hollywood A-listers, including Michael Jackson, Lucille Paul and Elizabeth Taylor.
Perry, who starred as Chandler Bing on “Friends” from 1994 to 2004, was found dead at his Los Angeles home, creating an outpouring of grief from fans and fellow celebrities.
The show’s five surviving co-stars paid tribute to their fallen castmate on Monday, lamenting his death as an “incomprehensible loss” in a joint statement.
Media outlets including TMZ and the New York Post’s Page Six reported on the event on Friday, posting long distance and aerial photos of those in attendance.
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer star alongside five “friends,” TMZ said.
Page Six said Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry, and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, were also there.
In all, about 20 people attended dressed in black and gathered around a grave, TMZ said.
Forest Hills did not respond to a Reuters request for confirmation.
The “Friends” co-stars released a joint statement Tuesday saying they were “absolutely devastated by the loss” and would have more to say in due course.
Perry’s cause and manner of death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office following the completion of an autopsy along with toxicology tests.
Perry’s death came a year after the publication of his memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Biggest Scary Thing,” which chronicled his decades-long addiction to painkillers and alcohol. At the time, Perry said he had been sober for about 18 months.
On Friday, a foundation was launched in Perry’s name to support people struggling with addiction. The Matthew Perry Foundation “will honor his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion to make a difference in as many lives as possible,” according to it. Website.
“When I die, I don’t want ‘friends’ to be mentioned first – I want helping others to be mentioned first,” the website leads with a quote from Perry.
Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Jamie Freed
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