Matthew Perry, ‘Friends’ star, dead of apparent drowning: reports

One of the “Friends” stars Matthew Perry has died of an apparent drowning, according to multiple reports.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting tonight Perry was found at his LA home in a hot tub. Perry was 54.

The LA Police told the Herald Saturday night any official word of a death would need to come from the coroner’s office. But they did tell the Associated Press that officers had gone to Perry’s home “for a death investigation of a male in his 50s.”

The Associated Press is posting photos of Perry under the headline “Matthew Perry Has Passed Away” and is now also saying he died.

Perry was born on Aug. 19, 1969, in Williamstown, Mass., to his mother, Canadian journalist Suzanne Marie Morrison, and father, actor and former model John Bennett Perry.

Perry is best know for his character “Chandler” on the hit TV show “Friends” that premiered on NBC in 1994. The show and its young cast — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc — all became marquee names.

“There’s nothing better than a world where everybody’s just trying to make each other laugh,” Perry was once quoted as saying.

The show ran for 10 years and Perry’s character, somewhat unhinged, fit in with the theme of the show where young New Yorkers shared love and life as they coped with the big city.

TMZ, People, the New York Post, and Variety — to name just a few — are all also reporting Perry’s death tonight.

Perry received one Emmy nomination for his “Friends” role and two more for appearances as an associate White House counsel on “The West Wing,” the AP reported.

Perry, the AP added, also had several notable film roles, starring opposite Salma Hayek in the rom-com “Fools Rush In” and opposite Bruce Willis in the the crime comedy “The Whole Nine Yards.”