Matthew Perry’s official cause of de*ath has been revealed, nearly two months after he was found de*ad at his Pacific Palisades, Calif., home on Oct. 28. The “Friends” actor was 54.
According to his autopsy report, the late star’s de*ath was due to “acute effects of ketamine” and the manner is accidental drowning. He also had a history of coronary artery disease, the New York Post confirmed on Friday.
Ketamine is legal in California if prescribed, and Perry’s autopsy report stated that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy, which could have been accompanied by a prescription — or he could have obtained it illegally.
Perry’s bloodstream contained 3,540 nanograms per millilitre of ketamine, according to the autopsy. According to pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, “he essentially died from an overdose of ketamine and had about three times the normal [dosage] amount in his system.”
For 19 months, the “Fools Rush In” star had been sober. Prescription medications were discovered at his home, but no illegal drugs or loose pills were discovered.
However, the autopsy does not note the names of the prescription drugs that were found at the home. It does say that he also had buprenorphine in his system, which Baden explained is a drug “used to treat narcotic addiction.”
“Addicts take it so they don’t have to use other ‘bad’ drugs because it works like methadone,” he said.
Ketamine doesn’t stay in the bloodstream for more than 24 hours, and Perry’s last blood transfusion was more than a week ago, so it couldn’t have killed him.
The Pacific Neuroscience Institute says that “ketamine therapy is used to treat depression, anxiety, PTSD, difficult feelings at the end of life, chronic pain, drug and alcohol problems, and more.”
As previously reported, Perry was found submerged underwater and facedown by a bystander before authorities were called and rushed to the scene. There was also no evidence of foul play, per the report.
Per TMZ, Perry was found by his assistant at the time.
A few days before he died, Perry posted a picture of himself on Instagram swimming in his hot tub while listening to music.
“Oh, so the movement of warm water makes you feel good? “My name is Mattman,” Perry wrote under the Oct. 23 photo.
For years, the actor struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. At one point, he said that he had “probably spent $9 million” trying to get clean. Perry wrote about his life in his memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” which came out in 2022. In it, he said he had been to 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, 15 times to rehab, and 65 times to detox.
On Nov. 3, Perry’s family and “Friends” co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc remembered him. He was laid to rest in the Forest Lawn cemetery in Hollywood Hills, California. This cemetery is right across the street from Warner Bros. Studios, where “Friends” was filmed for ten years, from 1994 to 2004.
The 54-year-old Aniston recently said that she talked to Perry on the day he died.
When she talked to Variety through tears, she said, “I was texting with him that morning, funny Matty.” “He wasn’t hurt.” He was having no trouble. He was glad.
“He was happy,” the actress from “The Morning Show” said. “He was in good health. He no longer smoked. He was working out. I only know that he was happy.
“I want people to know he was really healthy, and getting healthy,” Aniston added. “He was on a pursuit. He worked so hard. He really was dealt a tough one. I miss him dearly. We all do. Boy, he made us laugh really hard.”
Days after his d*eath, the entire cast released a joint statement on his passing.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” read their statement, obtained by People at the time. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”
“As and when we are able, we will say more in due course,” the statement said. “Right now, our hearts and thoughts are with Matty’s family, friends, and all the people around the world who loved him.”
The show’s co-creators, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and its executive producer, Kevin Bright, also spoke out after hearing the sad news.
They wrote, “We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by the d*eath of our beloved friend Matthew.” “It still doesn’t seem possible.” We are thankful to have had him in our lives. He had a lot of talent.
“It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us,” the statement continued. “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.”
Their last words included a nod to how “Friends” episode titles always began with “The One.”
“We send all of our love to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Br*oken,” they concluded.
