MATTHEW Perry's family and Friends co-stars have gathered in Los Angeles to say an emotional goodbye to the beloved actor.
His funeral was held at Forest Lawn Church of the Hills, just down the road from where Matthew and his castmates filmed the iconic series Friends for 10 years.
The ceremony in Los Angeles seemed to be an intimate event with about 20 or so people in attendance, TMZ reported.
Matthew's co-stars, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, and David Schwimmer, were all dressed in black as they arrived at the church.
Matt LeBlanc also attended the two-hour-long service, joining Matthew's father, John Bennett Perry, and stepfather, Keith Morrison.
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Photos showed mourners in all black comforting one another on the lawn at the funeral home.
The Daily Mail reported that Peter Gabriel's song 'Don't Give Up' played at the end of the service, including the lyrics:
"No fight left or so it seems, I am a man whose dreams have all deserted, I've changed my face, I've changed my name, But no one wants you when you lose."
The moving song was written by the former Genesis lead singer Gabriel and features British star Kate Bush.
The devastating final farewell comes after Matthew, 54, was found unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on Saturday.
He was loved around the world for playing Chandler Bing on Friends, which was filmed at the Warner Bros. Studio lot located less than a mile from where Matthew's funeral service was held.
CO-STARS 'DEVASTATED'
Matthew's co-stars shared a joint statement days after his death.
"We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family," they wrote.
"There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss."
"In time we will say more, as and when we are able," the statement continued.
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"For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."
The note was signed by each of his castmates.
Aniston was one of Perry's closest friends and his go-to buddy on the Friends set according to the late actor's memoir released last year.
She was "one of the first to arrive" at the ceremony, according to one onlooker talking to The Daily Mail.
"She kept herself to herself. This is a high-profile gathering."
"Nobody shed more tears for Matthew during the darkest points of his struggles with addiction than Jennifer," a close friend of the actress told The Daily Mail.
"But Jennifer genuinely thought his worst days were behind him. So his death just two years later has come as a bitter body blow to her," the friend said.
"It doesn't matter whether he died as a result of a freak accident or whether it was directly connected to his drug issues, this was a day that Jennifer has dreaded coming for 20 years," the friend continued.
"She always wanted to help Matthew any way she could – that was a constant for her."
Jim Burrows, who directed more than a dozen Friends episodes, said he immediately texted Aniston, Cox, and Kudrow after hearing the tragic news.
"I had texted the girls the day we found out," he told Today on Thursday.
"They were destroyed. It’s a brother dying."
Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, along with director Kevin Bright, released their own statement.
"We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing," they said. "It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives."
'BRILLIANT TALENT'
The trio called Matthew a "brilliant talent," saying that he embodied the role of Chandler.
"We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment - not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken."
Matthew had a particularly close relationship with Jennifer, who played Rachel Green on Friends.
After he got over his initial crush on the star, they had a close friendship as she supported him throughout his rehab stints and drug battles.
"She was the one that reached out the most," he told Diane Sawyer in an October 2022 interview.
"You know, I'm really grateful to her for that."
Matthew's Friends costar Maggie Wheeler, who played Janice Hosenstein, paid tribute to him on Instagram on Saturday.
"What a loss. The world will miss you, Matthew Perry. The joy you brought to so many in your too-short lifetime will live on," she wrote.
"I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared."
DEATH INVESTIGATION
Matthew's assistant found him underwater in his jacuzzi before first responders got to his house.
They lifted his head to try to help him breathe, but he was already dead by the time medics got there, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
His cause of death has not yet been made public.
It was been deferred, meaning medical examiners need more time to investigate.
Dispatch records showed that first responders were initially called to the Los Angeles property for a cardiac arrest.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ that no illicit drugs were found at the scene and that foul play was not suspected.
However, prescription drugs, including anti-anxiety and anti-depressant pills, were found inside the home, the outlet reported.
FINAL HOURS
Hours earlier, the actor played racquet sport pickleball with a female friend, who said that the star had felt unwell and “fatigued” for the past week.
He returned home from the country club and sent his assistant on an errand.
His assistant found him unresponsive in the water when they returned and made a frantic call to 911.
Matthew was seen just 24 hours before his death on a date.
He appeared to be in good spirits as he laughed with a brunette at Hotel Bel-Air.
Witnesses told TMZ that the pair were seated at the table for more than one hour, but he barely touched his meal or beverage.
