"He’s already too busy making everyone laugh up there.”
October 29, 2023 10:24 AM Subscribe
Matthew Perry, Emmy-nominated ‘Friends’ star, dead at 54 Apparently he drowned unexpectedly in the hot tub yesterday. LA Times article on it.
Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall: Matthew Perry Was The Sarcastic Soul of Friends (note: GetPocket used for link).
Washington Post: Friends and fans share tributes to Matthew Perry
(Hopefully others can add good tribute links, I'm about to be swamped today but saw there was no post up.)
Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall: Matthew Perry Was The Sarcastic Soul of Friends (note: GetPocket used for link).
Washington Post: Friends and fans share tributes to Matthew Perry
(Hopefully others can add good tribute links, I'm about to be swamped today but saw there was no post up.)
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posted by faceplantingcheetah at 10:32 AM on October 29, 2023
posted by faceplantingcheetah at 10:32 AM on October 29, 2023
Daniel Feinberg for The Hollywood Reporter -- Critic's Appreciation: Matthew Perry Masterfully Walked the Line Between Mirth and Melancholy
Perry on what he'd like us to talk about after his death:
Perry on what he'd like us to talk about after his death:
'When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I’m glad of that, happy I’ve done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web…posted by the primroses were over at 10:50 AM on October 29, 2023 [59 favorites]
‘But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people.
‘I know it won’t happen, but it would be nice.’
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posted by lalochezia at 11:03 AM on October 29, 2023
posted by lalochezia at 11:03 AM on October 29, 2023
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"Actually, it's *Miss* Chanandler Bong" continues to be one of the funniest line readings in the history of TV. :(
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:06 AM on October 29, 2023 [35 favorites]
"Actually, it's *Miss* Chanandler Bong" continues to be one of the funniest line readings in the history of TV. :(
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:06 AM on October 29, 2023 [35 favorites]
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posted by bitteschoen at 11:12 AM on October 29, 2023
posted by bitteschoen at 11:12 AM on October 29, 2023
Along the lines of the things he did to try to help other people, I thought this post from John Ross Bowie (of Big Bang Theory and Speechless fame) was really good.
posted by lampoil at 11:18 AM on October 29, 2023 [38 favorites]
posted by lampoil at 11:18 AM on October 29, 2023 [38 favorites]
There is a very real phenomenon of people -- especially men in their 50s-60s -- dying in hot tubs after eating large, salty meals. I had a friend pass that way after a thanksgiving dinner. It sounds like a tasteless bit from Curb Your Enthusiasm but it really does happen. Something to do with the salt and the heart and the heat. I don't know if this was the cause but I wouldn't be surprised.
Anyway, PSA. It's not anything I would have known about if my friend hadn't been a victim of it.
And that said,
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posted by treepour at 11:20 AM on October 29, 2023 [19 favorites]
Anyway, PSA. It's not anything I would have known about if my friend hadn't been a victim of it.
And that said,
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posted by treepour at 11:20 AM on October 29, 2023 [19 favorites]
Plainly the most talented comic actor of the group (followed by Lisa Kudrow).
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posted by praemunire at 11:22 AM on October 29, 2023 [11 favorites]
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posted by praemunire at 11:22 AM on October 29, 2023 [11 favorites]
Was never a fan of Friends, but there was always something about Perry I liked.
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posted by Thorzdad at 11:57 AM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by Thorzdad at 11:57 AM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by crocomancer at 12:12 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by crocomancer at 12:12 PM on October 29, 2023
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 12:15 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by JoeXIII007 at 12:15 PM on October 29, 2023
I too never watched Friends but damn 54 is so young (I am 55 lol) and it sounds like he was a good person. very sad.
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posted by supermedusa at 12:24 PM on October 29, 2023
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posted by supermedusa at 12:24 PM on October 29, 2023
He was my primary interest in Friends, along with Monica, because I was finally seeing someone I could identify with in terms of sarcasm as a refuge from dealing with your feels, and that felt really remarkable to me.
He also gave me the impetus to develop my policy to not discuss people’s bodies unless they clearly want that (like they’re proud of a weight change or they’re pregnant)—I remember how ugly things got first when he lost a dramatic amount of weight and his addiction came to light, then he gained more after treatment. I was like, man, this sucks, people should not be allowed to talk about him this way, and it was such an epiphany for me as someone who’d struggled my whole life with weight and physical issues. It’ll never change the Hollywood bullshit about bodies, but I was just always grateful that I found something useful from his public struggle.
I tried to watch the Sorkin show he did and he had some great lines in it, but my aversion to Sorkin is too huge and the show was just bad. Another show he did that actually was lovely was Go On, which really seemed to get grief and I needed that when my dad was dying. (It looks like it’s streaming on the Roku channel.) Fools Rush In is a fairly charming and underrated rom-com. Just a few things in case you wanted to check out something besides Friends and The Whole Nine Yards.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:41 PM on October 29, 2023 [25 favorites]
He also gave me the impetus to develop my policy to not discuss people’s bodies unless they clearly want that (like they’re proud of a weight change or they’re pregnant)—I remember how ugly things got first when he lost a dramatic amount of weight and his addiction came to light, then he gained more after treatment. I was like, man, this sucks, people should not be allowed to talk about him this way, and it was such an epiphany for me as someone who’d struggled my whole life with weight and physical issues. It’ll never change the Hollywood bullshit about bodies, but I was just always grateful that I found something useful from his public struggle.
I tried to watch the Sorkin show he did and he had some great lines in it, but my aversion to Sorkin is too huge and the show was just bad. Another show he did that actually was lovely was Go On, which really seemed to get grief and I needed that when my dad was dying. (It looks like it’s streaming on the Roku channel.) Fools Rush In is a fairly charming and underrated rom-com. Just a few things in case you wanted to check out something besides Friends and The Whole Nine Yards.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 12:41 PM on October 29, 2023 [25 favorites]
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posted by Blue Jello Elf at 12:48 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 12:48 PM on October 29, 2023
could this be any more surprising and sad.
posted by j_curiouser at 12:55 PM on October 29, 2023 [21 favorites]
posted by j_curiouser at 12:55 PM on October 29, 2023 [21 favorites]
It really feels to me like deaths of my generation's celebrities are almost all due to huge problems with doctor facilitated substance abuse. The list of gone too soon talent is so fucking long....
posted by srboisvert at 12:58 PM on October 29, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 12:58 PM on October 29, 2023 [10 favorites]
What in the goddamn...?
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 1:01 PM on October 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 1:01 PM on October 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
There is a Chandler Bing voice that lives in my head, because to me that's what trying to be funny- not to tell jokes but just to be funny in passing - sounds like. I wasn't even a crazy huge fan of Friends but Matthew Perry's sarcastic line delivery is still my model to this day.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:14 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 1:14 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
This was such sad news to wake up to this morning.
About 10 years ago he visited the UK government department I work for to speak about his experience as patron of a drug court charity. By a curious coincidence everyone in the room was a (then) 30-something Friends fan… when he came in, the room silenced then there was an audible gasp as we realised Chandler Bing was among us. He gave us a withering look and said “you all need to calm down”. In retrospect I realise what a millstone it must have been, having everyone see Chandler rather than Matthew wherever he went.
Then he spoke with quiet passion about his own experience of substance addiction and how he had seen the work of drug courts be transformative at tackling drug-fuelled offending. I remember thinking that he seemed a bit annoyed by us asking lots of technical and probably too-clever-by-half questions about how drug courts could work in the UK. What he had come to talk to us about was people rather than policy: helping other people avoid what he’d been through.
posted by greycap at 1:17 PM on October 29, 2023 [63 favorites]
About 10 years ago he visited the UK government department I work for to speak about his experience as patron of a drug court charity. By a curious coincidence everyone in the room was a (then) 30-something Friends fan… when he came in, the room silenced then there was an audible gasp as we realised Chandler Bing was among us. He gave us a withering look and said “you all need to calm down”. In retrospect I realise what a millstone it must have been, having everyone see Chandler rather than Matthew wherever he went.
Then he spoke with quiet passion about his own experience of substance addiction and how he had seen the work of drug courts be transformative at tackling drug-fuelled offending. I remember thinking that he seemed a bit annoyed by us asking lots of technical and probably too-clever-by-half questions about how drug courts could work in the UK. What he had come to talk to us about was people rather than policy: helping other people avoid what he’d been through.
posted by greycap at 1:17 PM on October 29, 2023 [63 favorites]
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I have a fondness for all the Friends actors. I didn’t like it much during the first few years, but my first girlfriend was a fan, and so we ended up watching all the series that were out by then on videotape which I think was up to season five. I ended up keeping up with the rest, and watched everything but skipped the final episode, because I wanted it to be open-ended. The show had been a part of my life in a way that not many other shows have been, even though I don’t go back to it much now.
This may be the writer in me, but my first thought was that I’m glad he got to write his memoir before he passed away.
posted by Kattullus at 1:35 PM on October 29, 2023 [14 favorites]
I have a fondness for all the Friends actors. I didn’t like it much during the first few years, but my first girlfriend was a fan, and so we ended up watching all the series that were out by then on videotape which I think was up to season five. I ended up keeping up with the rest, and watched everything but skipped the final episode, because I wanted it to be open-ended. The show had been a part of my life in a way that not many other shows have been, even though I don’t go back to it much now.
This may be the writer in me, but my first thought was that I’m glad he got to write his memoir before he passed away.
posted by Kattullus at 1:35 PM on October 29, 2023 [14 favorites]
I feel way, way sadder than I would have thought I would (besides him going so young).
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posted by tzikeh at 1:36 PM on October 29, 2023 [8 favorites]
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posted by tzikeh at 1:36 PM on October 29, 2023 [8 favorites]
Friends gets a lot of side-eye today, and I haven't watched it in many, many years, but it was a minor part of my mid-20s experience. I was living in a small college town with not much to do, and every Thursday my little tribe would gather around for "Must See TV" with Friends at top billing. Perry was easily my favorite in the cast, the most relatable and sympathetic and casually funny. I am no longer in touch with that group, but those memories are still really powerful.
But Friends isn't what I'll remember him for most. For whatever reason, Perry ended up voicing the audio book of Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. I first read / listened to this while I was living in Denver and working at a tech startup, still very very early in my career and everything was shiny and exiting and full of possibilities. Microserfs was pre-Win95 and had that vibe in abundance, about a group of geeks who quit Microsoft to go work for a startup in Silicon Valley.
I don't think he did a lot of audiobook narration, not sure why he chose or was chosen for this project. But his reading was perfect and if I pick up the book and read a page, I hear it in his voice.
Perry was just a touch older than I am, so this hits just a bit harder. I knew he struggled with addiction, but I thought he'd win out and have time to do something to eclipse Friends on his resume. I hope, at least, he was at peace with his life.
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posted by jzb at 1:41 PM on October 29, 2023 [18 favorites]
But Friends isn't what I'll remember him for most. For whatever reason, Perry ended up voicing the audio book of Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. I first read / listened to this while I was living in Denver and working at a tech startup, still very very early in my career and everything was shiny and exiting and full of possibilities. Microserfs was pre-Win95 and had that vibe in abundance, about a group of geeks who quit Microsoft to go work for a startup in Silicon Valley.
I don't think he did a lot of audiobook narration, not sure why he chose or was chosen for this project. But his reading was perfect and if I pick up the book and read a page, I hear it in his voice.
Perry was just a touch older than I am, so this hits just a bit harder. I knew he struggled with addiction, but I thought he'd win out and have time to do something to eclipse Friends on his resume. I hope, at least, he was at peace with his life.
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posted by jzb at 1:41 PM on October 29, 2023 [18 favorites]
Sure, Friends, whatever. I'd say his best (acting) work was Mr. Sunshine and Go On, two great shows that just didn't find an audience. Studio 60 was just terrible; nobody could have saved that.
posted by General Malaise at 2:18 PM on October 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by General Malaise at 2:18 PM on October 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
Sorry, but it has to be done...
Could his death BE any more wrong?
posted by scivola at 2:23 PM on October 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Could his death BE any more wrong?
posted by scivola at 2:23 PM on October 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Damn, that's way too young.
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 2:25 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 2:25 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
I didn't see much that he was in (aside from Studio 60, which he was brilliant in but was a terrible show). But there was always something about him I liked, and this makes me sad.
posted by rednikki at 2:52 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by rednikki at 2:52 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
This certainly hasn't been my day, my week, my month, or even my year.
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posted by New Frontier at 3:03 PM on October 29, 2023 [12 favorites]
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posted by New Frontier at 3:03 PM on October 29, 2023 [12 favorites]
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posted by weathergal at 3:05 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by weathergal at 3:05 PM on October 29, 2023
JOEYS TAILOR IS A VERY BAD MAN runs through my head, daily.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 3:07 PM on October 29, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 3:07 PM on October 29, 2023 [9 favorites]
In Prison
Though my favourite bizarrely regularly referenceable line is the "You got in voluntarily?" from when they got robbed.
posted by Mitheral at 3:15 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Though my favourite bizarrely regularly referenceable line is the "You got in voluntarily?" from when they got robbed.
posted by Mitheral at 3:15 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
What in the goddamn...?
He can't die now, he still has to shoot me in the face in 258 years!
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:16 PM on October 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
He can't die now, he still has to shoot me in the face in 258 years!
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:16 PM on October 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
My go-to random Chandler line has always been “I’m going to Yemen!”
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posted by schoolgirl report at 3:40 PM on October 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
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posted by schoolgirl report at 3:40 PM on October 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'm from LA and graduated in 1999. My friends and I would start out 1997-1999 at a specific coffee bean and tea leaf with some outdoor seating. Frequently, so did Perry and friends. Sometimes he had a famous face w him but mostly not (I assume they were just people we didn't recognize then).
As LA teens we were way too cool to obviously gawk, but we'd trade napkins and whatever. This was a repeat even over the years. Even then we'd play a game we called "sober/not sober" based purely on his weight. We were 17, so I'm going to forgive us.
What do you call this sort of relationship that's more than parasocial, but also not real, and leaves you immeasurably sad for someone you handed a napkin to thrice?
posted by atomicstone at 4:27 PM on October 29, 2023 [9 favorites]
As LA teens we were way too cool to obviously gawk, but we'd trade napkins and whatever. This was a repeat even over the years. Even then we'd play a game we called "sober/not sober" based purely on his weight. We were 17, so I'm going to forgive us.
What do you call this sort of relationship that's more than parasocial, but also not real, and leaves you immeasurably sad for someone you handed a napkin to thrice?
posted by atomicstone at 4:27 PM on October 29, 2023 [9 favorites]
Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace.
I know everybody hated Studio 60 but I loved it — Sorkinisms and all — and Perry was great in it. He will be missed.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:35 PM on October 29, 2023 [11 favorites]
I know everybody hated Studio 60 but I loved it — Sorkinisms and all — and Perry was great in it. He will be missed.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:35 PM on October 29, 2023 [11 favorites]
The best friends on Friends were Joey and Chandler. A sort of babysitter-child comedic pairing. Matt's affable forbearance being the adult and other Matt's wish to only eat ice cream being the child.
There won't be another Friends, sitcoms don't work anymore. If you don't count Chuck Lorre, which I don't and you shouldn't, Friends and Seinfeld were the very peak of the sitcom era. Then came the decline. Matthew was at that peak, that's why history will remember him.
posted by adept256 at 4:37 PM on October 29, 2023 [14 favorites]
There won't be another Friends, sitcoms don't work anymore. If you don't count Chuck Lorre, which I don't and you shouldn't, Friends and Seinfeld were the very peak of the sitcom era. Then came the decline. Matthew was at that peak, that's why history will remember him.
posted by adept256 at 4:37 PM on October 29, 2023 [14 favorites]
I was a fan of Friends, and I admired Matthew Perry in his own merit for his open honestly regarding his personal struggles. I am so saddened by his loss; I feel he had so much more to come in life.
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posted by annieb at 4:51 PM on October 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
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posted by annieb at 4:51 PM on October 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
Matthew Perry was really talented. I enjoyed him in Friends and it was a pleasure to see him in a not-typecast role in Studio 60. I think Aaron Sorkin is an excellent judge of talent. It was genuinely sad to learn of Perry's ongoing struggles with substance abuse and it's terribly sad to learn of his death. Way too young.
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posted by theora55 at 4:55 PM on October 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by theora55 at 4:55 PM on October 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
I know everybody hated Studio 60 but I loved it — Sorkinisms and all — and Perry was great in it. He will be missed.
Not everyone.
It’s kind of second-tier Sorkin*, but it still shows itself pretty well in an era where a lot of prime time is devoted to karaoke contests and Coroner Procedural #582.
Perry was punching above his weight in that show. In a better world (and with better scripts), it would have been the thing that broke him out being recalled principally for Friends.
*Speaking of Sorkin, Matthew Perry holds a nearly singular distinction in that he is spotted (offscreen) at a Hollywood fundraiser by characters in The West Wing and several seasons later he appeared as Joe Quincy for several episodes.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:12 PM on October 29, 2023 [12 favorites]
Not everyone.
It’s kind of second-tier Sorkin*, but it still shows itself pretty well in an era where a lot of prime time is devoted to karaoke contests and Coroner Procedural #582.
Perry was punching above his weight in that show. In a better world (and with better scripts), it would have been the thing that broke him out being recalled principally for Friends.
*Speaking of Sorkin, Matthew Perry holds a nearly singular distinction in that he is spotted (offscreen) at a Hollywood fundraiser by characters in The West Wing and several seasons later he appeared as Joe Quincy for several episodes.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:12 PM on October 29, 2023 [12 favorites]
I read his memoir a few months ago and was struck by his candor and direct approach to his addiction. His death came as no surprise to me, having read the book, but it’s a profound loss nonetheless. He was remarkably talented.
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posted by cheapskatebay at 5:23 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by cheapskatebay at 5:23 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Per his memoir, Perry also suffered from truly awful GI issues, enduring several serious medical emergencies e.g., both a burst colon and a bowel obstruction, which put him in a coma and necessitated a five month hospital stay, over a dozen surgeries and reliance on a colostomy bag for nearly a year. The trauma of all that! His death is so poignant to me because he really went through hell and (seemingly) emerged from it hale, hearty and self-aware. .
posted by carmicha at 6:16 PM on October 29, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 6:16 PM on October 29, 2023 [16 favorites]
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posted by of strange foe at 6:28 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by of strange foe at 6:28 PM on October 29, 2023
I'd say his best (acting) work was Mr. Sunshine and Go On, two great shows that just didn't find an audience.
I found myself always looking forward to his new tv series and feeling bummed when they were each cancelled so soon. I’m fond of his work on both of these (especially Go On) and Studio 60, and even enjoyed The Odd Couple, too.
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posted by vespertine at 7:24 PM on October 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
I found myself always looking forward to his new tv series and feeling bummed when they were each cancelled so soon. I’m fond of his work on both of these (especially Go On) and Studio 60, and even enjoyed The Odd Couple, too.
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posted by vespertine at 7:24 PM on October 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
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“Joey ate my last stick of gum, so I killed him. Do you think that was wrong?”
posted by fairmettle at 8:31 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
“Joey ate my last stick of gum, so I killed him. Do you think that was wrong?”
posted by fairmettle at 8:31 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
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Thirding Go On as a brilliant show that ended too soon.
Also, he voiced Benny in Fallout: New Vegas, which is a genuine classic.
posted by suetanvil at 9:15 PM on October 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
Thirding Go On as a brilliant show that ended too soon.
Also, he voiced Benny in Fallout: New Vegas, which is a genuine classic.
posted by suetanvil at 9:15 PM on October 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
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posted by Silverstone at 9:53 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by Silverstone at 9:53 PM on October 29, 2023
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posted by dragonplayer at 5:00 AM on October 30, 2023
posted by dragonplayer at 5:00 AM on October 30, 2023
I'm from LA and graduated in 1999.
Like I didn't feel even older enough already to find how young Matthew Perry was, peace be unto him.
posted by y2karl at 10:45 AM on October 30, 2023
Like I didn't feel even older enough already to find how young Matthew Perry was, peace be unto him.
posted by y2karl at 10:45 AM on October 30, 2023
also here to say Go On was a terrific show and should have been renewed for multiple seasons. So sorry to hear of his passing, especially since he seemed to finally get his life back on track. I do believe his willingness to discuss his addictions openly helped a whole lot of people. I hope he will be remembered for his advocacy work and not just his excellent comedic timing.
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posted by pjsky at 10:50 AM on October 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by pjsky at 10:50 AM on October 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
He pioneered an entire delivery, often parodied but never quite equalled. Not many people get to have a legacy like such a catchphrase, though I am sure he was sick of it after about episode two.
Really bummed, it felt like he was just about to start a Perry-aissance.
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posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:51 PM on October 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
Really bummed, it felt like he was just about to start a Perry-aissance.
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posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:51 PM on October 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
Just want to say I'm happy to see other mefites recognizing his great work in Fallout New Vegas and also the Studio 60 show. I'm glad to see a few other people there who liked it. With all its flaws, it's actually the Sorkin show that I like the most.
posted by seasparrow at 2:10 PM on October 30, 2023
posted by seasparrow at 2:10 PM on October 30, 2023
There won't be another Friends, sitcoms don't work anymore.
Suggest you try the original UK (not the American version) of Ghosts. Its final season ran this month, much to my sorrow; but it sitcoms with the best of them (and there is a subplot in one episode which involves watching a DVD set of Friends).
posted by jokeefe at 3:36 PM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Suggest you try the original UK (not the American version) of Ghosts. Its final season ran this month, much to my sorrow; but it sitcoms with the best of them (and there is a subplot in one episode which involves watching a DVD set of Friends).
posted by jokeefe at 3:36 PM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by socialjusticeworrier at 8:07 PM on October 30, 2023
posted by socialjusticeworrier at 8:07 PM on October 30, 2023
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