Matthew Perry received an emotional in-memoriam tribute during the Emmys 2024. The Television Academy honored the late “Friends” star with a performance of the theme song, “I’ll Be There for You,” by Charlie Puth.
A known “Friends” fan, Puth previously performed the iconic song during a concert in Australia just days after Perry’s death.
Perry died on Oct. 28, 2023, after being found unconscious in his pool. He was 54.
The Los Angeles County Coroner later announced that the “Whole Nine Yards” actor died from the acute effects of ketamine.
The autopsy report also listed drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, a synthetic opioid used to treat addiction, as well as other factors that contributed to his death.
Charlie Puth performed the sitcom’s theme, “I’ll Be There for You,” during the In Memoriam. (Credits: Wire Image)Perry — who was clean from drugs for 19 months — was on “ketamine infusion therapy” at the time of his passing, according to the autopsy. His last treatment occurred a week and a half before his death.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed last week that the investigation into his death was closed.
Perry’s tribute card followed icons such as Norman Lear and Suzanne Somers.
The “Fools Rush In” star had been open about his struggles with substance abuse over the years, but his “Friends” co-star Jennifer Aniston insisted he was “really healthy” at the time of his shocking death.
The “Friends” star died on Oct. 28. He was 54. Everett Collection / Everett Collection
“He had quit smoking. He was getting in shape. He was happy — that’s all I know,” an emotional Aniston recently told Variety.
“I want people to know he was really healthy and getting healthy. He really was dealt a tough one. I miss him dearly.”
The entire “Friends” cast — Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt LeBlanc — all attended a private memorial service for their late pal at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills neighborhood.
They also issued individual tributes in addition to releasing a shared statement that addressed how “devastated” they were.
