--- description: Many are remembering the beloved 'Friends' star for the ways he strove to help people recovering from addiction title: Matthew Perry Remembered for Helping Others Get Sober image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2429e8780a01f13/698a41c7b21a9ce71c507b93/Matthew-Perry.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Matthew Perry Wanted to Be Remembered for Helping Others in Recovery From Addiction  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Updated: Oct 31, 2023 8:13 PM CUTPublished: Oct 30, 2023 5:54 PM CUT  Matthew Perry arrives at the 9th Annual Dinner Benefiting the Lili Claire Foundation at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on October 14, 2006. Matthew Perry arrives at the 9th Annual Dinner Benefiting the Lili Claire Foundation at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on October 14, 2006.Michael Buckner—Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Updated: Oct 31, 2023 8:13 PM CUTPublished: Oct 30, 2023 5:54 PM CUT As fans around the world mourn the [death of Matthew Perry](https://time.com/6329659/matthew-perry-dead-friends-cast-tributes/ "undefined"), many are remembering the beloved [_Friends_](https://time.com/5842533/best-friends-episodes/ "undefined") star for the ways in which he strove to help people recovering from [addiction](https://time.com/6102343/recovering-from-addiction/ "undefined"). Fifty-four-year-old Perry was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, prompting an outpouring of love for the actor as well as recognition of his longtime commitment to helping others get sober. Perry himself, who spoke candidly about his own struggles with drug and alcohol addiction in his 2022 memoir _Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing_, said during an [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrZsyBhmMro&t=1754s "undefined") last year with podcast host Tom Power that he would prefer to be remembered for helping people rather than for his work on _Friends_ as the iconic Chandler Bing. “The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it,” he said. “When I die, I don’t want _Friends_ to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.” Friends and costars of Perry's, including Mira Sorvino and Hank Azaria (who appeared alongside Perry in a recurring role on _Friends_), have begun paying tribute to his legacy of service to those battling addiction. "I want to leave Matthew Perry’s own words here as the way we remember him," [Sorvino wrote on X](https://twitter.com/MiraSorvino/status/1718665767082967107 "undefined"). "There will never be another like him- he lit up so many hearts in so many ways." In a video posted on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cy%5FZHluOQ7m/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fweb%5Fcopy%5Flink&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== "undefined"), Azaria shared how Perry personally helped him get sober. “I’m a sober guy for 17 years,” he said. “I want to say that the night I went into AA, Matthew brought me in. The whole first year I was sober, we went to meetings together. As a sober person, he was so caring and giving and wise and he totally helped me get sober. I really wish he could have found it in himself to stay with the sober life more consistently.” In addition to helping individuals like Azaria, Perry also turned his former Malibu home into a sober living facility called the Perry House, which ran until 2015\. “I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker,” Perry said in the 2022 interview. “And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That’s what I want.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6329820/matthew-perry-addiction-recovery-remembrance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6329820/matthew-perry-addiction-recovery-remembrance/"},"headline":"Matthew Perry Wanted to Be Remembered for Helping Others in Recovery From Addiction","datePublished":"2023-10-30T17:54:11.000Z","dateModified":"2023-10-31T20:13:05.000Z","description":"Many are remembering the beloved 'Friends' star for the ways he which he strove to help people recovering from addiction","url":"https://time.com/6329820/matthew-perry-addiction-recovery-remembrance/","keywords":["celebrities","remembrance","Brief","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2429e8780a01f13/698a41c7b21a9ce71c507b93/Matthew-Perry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2429e8780a01f13/698a41c7b21a9ce71c507b93/Matthew-Perry.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Matthew-Perry-Legacy","caption":"Matthew Perry arrives at the 9th Annual Dinner Benefiting the Lili Claire Foundation at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on October 14, 2006.","creditText":"Michael Buckner—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6329820/matthew-perry-addiction-recovery-remembrance/","name":"Matthew Perry Wanted to Be Remembered for Helping Others in Recovery From Addiction"}}]}] ```