Matthew Perry Was ‘Happy’ Before His Death, Stepfather Keith Morrison Says
Matthew Perry was in a good space mentally at the time of his death, according to his stepfather, TV newsman Keith Morrison. “He was happy, and he said so, and he hadn’t said that for a long time,” the journalist told TV host Hoda Kotb in an interview for her Making Space podcast. “So it’s a source of comfort. Also, he didn’t get to have his third act, and that’s not fair.”
Morrison married Perry’s mother, Suzanne, also a journalist, in 1981 while Perry was still a preteen. Perry subsequently grew up with Morrison in Ottawa. He died on Oct. 28 of the “acute effects of ketamine“; his death was ruled accidental. The actor was 54.
More from Rolling Stone
Matthew Perry Leaves $1 Million to Trust Named After Woody Allen Role
2023 Emmys In Memoriam: Matthew Perry, Norman Lear and More Remembered in Emotional Tribute
When Kotb asked Morrison if Perry’s death surprised him, he walked a middle line: “It was the news you never want to get, but you think someday you might. Yes and no, I guess, is the answer to that.” Regarding the actor’s battle with addiction, Morrison said Perry “felt like he was beating it, but you never beat it, and he knew that, too.”
The loss has been especially difficult on Perry’s mother. “It’s not easy, especially for his mom,” Morrison said, adding that the mother and son were in regular communication. “Toward the end of his life, they were closer than I’ve seen them for decades.”
As for his own relationship with Perry, whom Morrison described as having a “goofy,” “acerbic,” and “larger-than-life” personality, he said they were also in a good place. “He had that kind of very fiery personality, and mine is not like that, as you can imagine,” he said. “But we got along fine. I never tried to replace his dad, because dads are dads. But I was there for him, and he knew it, and we were close.” (Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry, is an actor.)
Morrison also discussed the Matthew Perry Foundation, which he and Suzanne established in Perry’s memory. “The goal is to do whatever can be done to help organizations that are trying to identify the disease [addiction] and how to deal with the disease and agencies and organizations that are specifically helping rescue people in difficult situations … and give them a chance to beat it,” he said. “The disease is built in. I really don’t think it ever goes away. It’s in your brain, and the brain doesn’t want to let it go.” He added that he and Suzanne want the foundation to have a presence in Canada to reflect Perry’s Ottawa roots.
“It’s a whirlwind of a life to get involved in a program that became as wildly successful as it was, to be fighting an addiction that was so virulent that went after him so hard,” Morrison said. “And he gave into it frequently. He’d get to a certain point, and then he knew he had to go into treatment, and he’d accept help when he needed it. As he said himself, it kept happening. And it was big bear, it was a tough thing to beat.”
After Perry’s death, his family released a statement. “Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend,” it read. “You all meant so much to him, and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love.” His Friends castmates also released a joint statement expressing how “devastated” they felt.
Best of Rolling Stone