Lisa Kudrow Thanks Matthew Perry for “Showing Up” When He Wasn’t “Well” and “Being Completely Brilliant” in Touching Tribute
Following the touching tributes to the late actor given earlier this week by Matt LeBlanc, Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, and David Schwimmer, Kudrow penned her own heartfelt message on Wednesday, praising Perry for everything she "learned about grace and love through knowing" him.
We were at the NBC Upfronts when we shot the pilot for Friends Like Us and it was picked up right away. Next, though... You made it so much fun when we first bonded by suggesting that we play poker. A Polaroid of Kudrow and Perry posing arm in arm at an NBC event was captioned, "Thank you for that."
Thank you for making me cry every day and giving me so much laughter that my muscles hurt when you said something," the actress went on. "I appreciate your willingness to be flexible in a six-way partnership that needed some giving and taking. and 'talking' a great deal.
"Thank you for showing up at work when you were sick and then, being completely brilliant," Kudrow continued, referencing Perry's battle with addiction. I'm grateful for the best ten years of one's life. I am appreciative of your trust.
Throughout their association, Kudrow has frequently brought up Perry's battle with addiction, not only in this article. In her foreword to the actor's memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, published in 2022, she revealed that she was unaware of the actor's troubles until years later.
She stated in the paragraph that she was learning about "the real life experiences of dealing with and overcoming addiction" from reading the biography. "I had no idea how many times Matthew nearly didn't make it, but he has survived impossible odds," the speaker continued, "but Matthew has told me some things, but not in this kind of detail."