Matthew Perry

1969–2023

Matthew Perry News: Doctor Sentenced in Connection to Actor’s Death

Salvador Plasenciathe doctor who supplied Matthew Perry with ketaminewas sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on December 3 in connection with the late actor’s death.

Plasenciawho ran an urgent care clinic in CalabasasCaliforniaillegally sold Perry ketamine just weeks before his overdose in October 2023but did not provide the fatal dose. In Julyhe pleaded guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution. “I failed Mr. Perry. I failed him. I failed his family,” the former physician said during his sentencing hearing in Los Angeles. “I should have protected him.”

According to court documentsPlasencia charged the Friends star a total of $57,000 for the addictive anesthetic. In text messages to a colleaguehe even inquired“I wonder how much this moron will pay.”

Prior to his fatal overdosePerry was reportedly receiving ketamine infusions to treat depression and anxiety. Howeverwhen the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner announced his cause of death from the “acute effects of ketamine,” the office noted the ketamine found in his system wasn’t related to his infusion therapy.

Although Perry’s death was ruled an accidentthe Los Angeles Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating the source of the ketamine found in his body in May 2024. The 54-year-old had long struggled with substance abuse and had fallen back into his addiction before he died.

Plasencia44is one of five people who have pleaded guilty in the caseincluding Perry’s personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen.” The first to be sentencedPlasencia will serve 30 monthsor 2.5 yearsbehind barsfollowed by two years of supervised release.

Matthew Perry began acting as a teenager. Following an early career marked by bit parts and failed pilotsPerry rocketed to fame in the mid-1990s with the Emmy-nominated role of Chandler Bing on the smash sitcom Friends. He went on to star in movies like Fools Rush In and The Whole Nine Yards. Off-screenthe actor struggled with addiction for many years. Perry later attempted to replicate his sitcom success with Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Go Oneventually finding a ratings hit with a revival of The Odd Couple. Never married nor a fatherhe died from a drug overdose at age 54 in October 2023.

FULL NAME: Matthew Langford Perry
BORN: August 191969
DIED: October 282023
BIRTHPLACE: WilliamstownMassachusetts
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Leo

Matthew Langford Perry was born on August 191969in Williamstown Massachusetts. His actor fatherJohn Bennett Perrysplit up with his mother Suzanne Langfordwhile Matthew was still an infant. He went to live with his mother in OttawaCanada. Suzanne served as press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Truedeau and later remarried. Matthew’s stepfather was Keith Morrisona correspondent for NBC’s Dateline program.

Matthew attended Rockcliffe Park Public School and became friends with fellow student Justin Trudeauthe current prime minister of Canada. After moving to Los Angeles around the age of 15 to live with his fatherMatthew enrolled at Buckley School. He graduated from the private school in 1987.

Growing upMatthew developed two passions: playing tennis and acting. “Giving up tennis wasn’t really a decision I had to make,” he said in 2021. “I was a very good tennis player in OttawaCanada—nationally ranked when I waslike13. Then I moved to Los Angeles when I was 15and everyone in L.A. just killed me. I was pretty great in Canada. Not so much in Los Angeles.” Unlike his tennis prospectsa career in acting would be a different story.

Perry landed his first movie part while still in high schoola supporting role opposite star River Phoenix in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988). Unfortunatelythe film came and went without much notice.

Matthew Perry began his acting career while still a teenager.

In September 1987Perry starred in his first sitcomSecond Chance. The show had a fantastical premise with Kiel Martin starring as a man who dies and gets a chance to go back to mentor a younger version of himself (played by Perry). The show was later retooleddropping Martin and focusing on the teenage misadventures of Perry’s character. Despite its new direction and new titleBoys Will Be Boysthe sitcom failed to attract enough of an audience to stay on the air.

After the series endedPerry landed a series of small parts and guest appearances on such programs as Empty Nest and Growing Pains. He also had a supporting role on the short-lived Valerie Bertinelli comedic vehicle Sydney in 1990. This same yearPerry gave a strong performance as Desi Arnaz Jr. in the television biopic Call Me Anna, about the life of actor Patty Duke.

Three years laterPerry tried again for sitcom success with Home Free. He starred as a young reporter who lives at home with his motherhis sisterand her two kids. After a few monthsthe series was cancelled. Perry was then cast in the pilot for LAX 2194a futuristic look at an airport which never aired.

The colossal success of Friends made Matthew Perry and his characterChandler Binginto household names.

Perry soon found the perfect project with a leading role in a new sitcom about a group of young men and women in New York City. Debuting in September 1994Friends became one of the most popular television sitcoms of all time.

Perry played the witty and sarcastic Chandler Bingwho shared an apartment with an aspiring actor named Joeyplayed by Matt LeBlancand was a longtime friend of Rossplayed by David Schwimmer. Completing the castCourteney Cox played MonicaRoss’ sister; Jennifer Aniston played RachelMonica’s roommate; and Lisa Kudrow played Phoebethe kookyoffbeat friend to all.

The six actors proved to be a tight group both on- and off-screen. They banded together to renegotiate their contracts after Friends became a huge hit—a must-watch show for many Americans on Thursday nights. Each eventually earned $1 million per episode. Critics loved the showtoo. Friends notched 62 Emmy Award nominations in its runincluding Perry’s 2002 nod for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

During the later seasons of FriendsChandler developed a romantic relationship with Monica. The characters eventually marriedadopted twinsand planned a move to the suburbs as the series came to an end in May 2004 after a decade on the air.

As he enjoyed the immense popularity of FriendsPerry battled addictions to alcohol and prescription medications. “I was a guy who wanted to become famous,” he told The New York Times in 2002. “There was steam coming out of my earsI wanted to be famous so badly. You want the attentionyou want the bucksand you want the best seat in the restaurant. I didn’t think what the repercussions would be.”

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Perry entered rehab for his addiction to the painkiller Vicodin in 1997 and completed a second rehab stint in 2001. Years laterPerry told People he “couldn’t stop” using alcohol and pills during that period.

His addiction relapsed and the star went to rehab several more times throughout his life. In his 2022 book FriendsLoversand the Big Terrible ThingPerry wrote he spent more than $7 million attempting to get sober and visited rehab at least 15 times.

Even as he continued to strugglehe tried to support other addictstoo. He advocated for drug court reform andfor a timeturned his old MalibuCaliforniahome into a men’s sober-living facility called Perry House.

During his years on FriendsPerry tackled several movies. He starred in several comediesincluding Fools Rush In (1997)with Salma Hayek; Almost Heroes (1998)with Chris Farley; and Three to Tango (1999)with Neve Campbell. While none of these films struck a chord with audiences or criticsPerry found some commercial success with The Whole Nine Yards (2000)with Bruce Willis and Amanda Peet. The movie earned more than $57 million and spawned the 2004 sequel The Whole Ten Yards.

Perry went on to star in the 2006 TV movie The Ron Clark Story, about a Southern teacher who moves to New York City to work with disadvantaged students. The performance earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

In 2007he played a screenwriter who tries to cure his depression to win over the woman he loves in the independent film Numb. Perry then played the lead in another independent featureBirds of Americawhich was shown at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. The following yearhe had a role in the comedy 17 Again, with Zac Efron and Leslie Mann.

In 2006Perry returned to series television for Aaron Sorkin’s behind-the-scenes drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. He played Matt Albiea talented writer who returns to the comedy show that made him famous. Bradley Whitford played his friendcollaboratorand the show’s producer. Although it earned many positive reviewsthe show was cancelled the next year because of low ratings.

Taking another crack at sitcom success in 2011Perry starred in the short-lived Mr. Sunshine. In 2012he returned to the small screen in Go On as a sports talk show host who joins an oddball support group following the death of his wife. The show survived a full season before being canceled.

Perry finally found another winner with the 2015 revival of The Odd Coupleplaying the messy Oscar Madison to Thomas Lennon’s fastidious Felix Unger. Despite mixed reviewsaudiences took to the comedic repartee of the two stars through its three-season run.

During these yearsPerry also enjoyed a recurring role on the legal drama The Good Wife and reappeared for its spinoffThe Good Fight. One of Perry’s final roles was as Ted Kennedy on the 2017 limited series The Kennedys After Camelotalso starring Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy.

Perry never marriedthough he came close once. In November 2020the actor got engaged to his girlfriend Molly Hurwitz. Howeverthe pair announced their split in May 2021.

Perry previously dated actors Lizzy Caplan andbrieflyJulia Roberts. He was also in relationships with TV executive Jamie Tarsesthen–fashion student Rachel Dunnand TV producer Gabrielle Allan.

The actor’s addiction sparked a string of related health problems. In 2000Perry was hospitalized for pancreatitis.

Thenin the summer of 2018the 49-year-old actor was rushed to the hospital with a gastrointestinal perforation. He later revealed in his book FriendsLoversand the Big Terrible Thing that his exploded coloncaused by his opioid abuseleft him fighting for his life. His five-month hospital stay included a stint on life support and two weeks in a coma. “The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” Perry wrote of his early days at the hospital. His recovery included using a colostomy bag for nine months and at least 14 surgeries.

Perry died unexpectedly on October 282023at age 54. An assistant found him face down in a pool at his Los Angeles home and called emergency responders. Paramedics pronounced him dead shortly after they arrived around 4 p.m.

The cause of Perry’s shocking death was “the acute effects of ketamine,” and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner listed drowningcoronary artery diseaseand the effects of buprenorphine as contributing factors. Buprenorphine is used to treat opioid addiction.

Perry’s death was ruled an accidentthough it wasn’t lost on authorities that the amount of ketamine in his system when he died—enough to be used for general anesthesia during surgery—far outpaced what he had been receiving during ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety. The Los Angeles Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating the source of the ketamine that killed Perry in May 2024 and ultimately discovered Perry had relapsed into addiction in fall 2023.

Five people were charged in connection with his death in August 2024including his personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasaan acquaintancetwo doctorsand a narcotics distributor known as the “Ketamine Queen.” All defendants have pleaded guilty to federal changes. In December 2025Salvador Plasenciathe doctor who supplied Perry with ketaminewas sentenced 30 months in federal prison.

Shortly after his deatha foundation was established in his honor to help people struggling with addiction. He is buried in Los Angeles at Forest Lawn Memorial Parkacross the street from Warner Bros. Studios where he filmed Friends.

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