Matthew Perry is being remembered by his TV parent Kathleen Turner.
On Friends, the 69-year-old actress played Helena Handbasket, a transgender woman who was the father of Matthew‘s character Chandler Bing.
Following Matthew‘s tragic death on Saturday (October 28) at the age of 54, Kathleen shared a statement remembering her TV son.
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“He came to see one of my Broadway shows and he came backstage,” Kathleen recalled to People. “When he saw me, he yelled out, ‘Hey dad’ and everyone thought it was pretty cool. I think it was for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”
Even though she hadn’t seen him in “at least 10 years,” Kathleen said Matthew‘s personality always stuck with her.
“I liked him,” Kathleen said. “He had a good sense of humor and a good heart. he liked other people, which, to me, is terribly important, especially for an actor.”
“It’s extremely sad when you think about how young [he was] and a pity he couldn’t get more control,” Kathleen added.
Referring to the Friends cast, Kathleen said, “I can’t imagine the pressure those guys lived under being a worldwide phenomenon. It must have been overwhelming.”
“I am still constantly recognized by a certain age group as Chandler’s dad,” Kathleen shared. “I met somebody last night and she said, ‘Aren’t you a movie star?’ I said, ‘Yeah, but before your time.’ And she said, ‘Well, where would I know you from?’ and I said, ‘Chandler’s dad.’ She said, ‘Oh, my God!’”
Kathleen also recalled filming Chandler’s wedding to Monica (Courteney Cox), saying, “The wedding! I was married to Morgan Fairchild. There was no time for anything but shooting.”
Kathleen then talked about the close relationship Matthew had with Courteney, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer.
“I need to emphasize that these kids were a tight group. I was more in and out of his life,” Kathleen noted. “They were a clique, all of them. They were a very tight knit group.”
One of Matthew‘s Friends love interest also spoke out after his death.
