The Creators Of ‘Friends’ Recalled Their Last Conversation With Matthew Perry Before His Death

Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane shared details about their last conversation with Matthew Perry, who died over the weekend at 54 years old, on Wednesday’s episode of the Today show.

“It was great,” Kauffman said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “He was happy and chipper. He didn’t seem weighed down by anything. He was in a really good place, which is why this seems so unfair.” She was in “total shock” when she heard the news. “My first instinct was to text him, honestly,” Kauffman added. “And then deep sadness. So much sadness. It’s hard to grasp. One minute he’s here and happy and then poof. And doing good in the world. Really doing good in the world.”

“He seemed better than I had seen in a while. I was so thrilled to see that. He was emotionally in a good place. He looked good. He quit smoking. Yes, he was sober. He learned things throughout this and what he learned more than anything is that he wants to help other addicts, and it gave him purpose.”

Following Perry’s death, Kauffman and Crane praised the actor for his “brilliant talent” in a joint statement. “It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words,” they wrote. “From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us.”

You can watch the Today interview above.