PEOPLE Friends: Matthew Perry Remembered
Friends: Laughs, Tears & the Inside Story
The One Who Made Us Laugh the Most • FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS FANS FELT LIKE THEY KNEW THESE SIX TV FRIENDS PERSONALLY. NO WONDER IT HIT SO HARD WHEN ONE OF THEM LEFT US
There for You: Matthew Perry’s Legacy • HE’LL FOREVER BE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT SNARKY-SWEET FRIENDS GUY. BUT THE ACTOR HOPED ALSO TO BE REMEMBERED AS SOMEONE WHO SHARED HIS OWN PAIN TO HELP OTHERS
Sharing Hope • AFTER GETTING SOBER AND WRITING A 2022 MEMOIR OF THE MOST HARROWING DAYS OF HIS ADDICTION AND RECOVERY, MATTHEW PERRY OPENED UP IN ORDER TO DO SOME GOOD
The Best of Times • CHEESECAKE. JELLYFISH. ‘PIVOT!’ IN ITS 10 SEASONS, FRIENDS OFFERED COUNTLESS LAUGHS—THESE ARE 10 OF THE FUNNIEST
Inside the First Season • JUST AS FRIENDS WAS TAKING OFF WITH VIEWERS, PEOPLE VISITED THE SET TO MEET SIX ACTORS WHO HAD BECOME FAST FRIENDS IN REAL LIFE AND STILL HAD HUGE THINGS TO COME
Meet the Cast • CHANDLER, MONICA, JOEY, PHOEBE, ROSS AND RACHEL: WE KNOW THEM AS WELL AS WE KNOW SOME OF OUR REAL-LIFE FRIENDS
Monica • THOUGH TIGHTLY WOUND, SHE PROVIDED THE CALM CENTER (AND SNACKS) IN THE GANG’S STORMY LIVES
Ross • THE PALEONTOLOGIST HAD DOZENS OF NERDY NEUROSES, BUT BENEATH THEM MONICA’S BIG BROTHER HAD A HEART THE SIZE OF T-REX
Rachel • SPOILED BUT SURPRISINGLY FEARLESS, THE NEARLY MRS. BARRY FARBER (D.D.S.) CHOSE A NEW LIFE—AND FOUND LOVE
Joey • THE AFFABLE ACTOR WHO LOVES WOMEN AND SANDWICHES—NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER
Phoebe • LONG IN SEARCH OF HER BIRTH MOM AND DISTANT DAD, THE STREET-SMART YET GUILELESS MASSEUSE MAKES HER FRIENDS HER FAMILY
Chandler • HATES DOGS AND IRISH JIGS, LOVES THE CHICK AND THE DUCK. LOVES HIS FRIENDS MORE. BEHIND THE SARCASM, MR. BING IS A BIG SOFTIE
Oh. My. God. Janice! • THE ONLY NON-FRIEND TO APPEAR IN ALL 10 SEASONS, JANICE LITMAN-GORALNIK POPPED UP AT THE MOST INOPPORTUNE MOMENTS TO LOVE AND TORTURE CHANDLER—AND DELIGHT US
Meet the Family • WHICH ONE OF RACHEL’S SISTERS DATED ROSS? (AND WHICH ONE BIT HER?) WAS PHOEBE’S GRANDMOTHER ‘NESTLE’ TOULOUSE? THESE AND OTHER MYSTERIES OF THE FRIENDS EXTENDED CLAN SOLVED HERE
Places They Remember • WITH A COFFEE SHOP DOWNSTAIRS, THEIR GREENWICH VILLAGE APARTMENT WAS ‘A HAPPY PLACE,’ SAYS CHANDLER. ‘BUT MORE IMPORTANT, BECAUSE OF RENT CONTROL, IT WAS A FREAKING STEAL’
That Catchy Theme Song
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner • FROM COWORKERS TO STALKERS TO DOCTORS TO STRIPPERS, THE PEOPLE WHO PASSED THROUGH THE FRIENDS’ NEIGHBORHOOD WERE AN EXTREMELY GOOD-LOOKING (AND AWFULLY FAMILIAR) BUNCH
FRIENDS PHOTO CREDITS
People
Remembering ‘Matty’ • IF THEY WORKED WITH MATTHEW PERRY FOR YEARS OR A DAY, HIS COLLEAGUES HAD ONLY FOND WORDS