Matthew Perry Foundation established after the actor’s sudden death

Matthew Perry’s legacy will live on through the Matthew Perry Foundation, and the new organization is already accepting donations.

The foundation will be officially operational from Friday 3 November. “In the spirit of Matthew Perry’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction, we are embarking on a journey to honor his legacy by establishing the Matthew Perry Foundation, guided by his own words and experiences, and driven through his passion for making a difference to as many lives as possible,” reads a statement from the charity.

Perry was open about his addiction issues before his sudden death at age 54 on Saturday, October 28. Law enforcement officers were called to the actor’s home in Los Angeles, where he was found “unconscious in a detached Jacuzzi.” A statement from the Los Angeles Fire Department on Monday, October 30, revealed that Perry “died prior to the arrival of the first responder.” His official cause of death has yet to be released pending a toxicology report.

Before his death, Perry revealed that he wanted to be remembered as someone who wanted to “help people” rather than just Chandler Bing – the role he played on Friends from 1994 to 2004.

Related: Matthew Perry’s ups and downs through the years

Matthew Perry has never shied away from opening up about his struggles after rising to fame for his role as Chandler Bing in Friends. “When [fame] happens, it looks like Disneyland for a while. For me it took about eight months, the feeling of ‘I did it, I’m happy, there’s no problem in the world.’ […]

“The best thing about me, bar none, is when an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me?’ I can say yes and follow through and do it,” Perry said of his legacy when he appeared on the “Q with Tom Power” podcast in November 2022. “When I die, I don’t want friends to be the first thing mentioned. I want this to be the first thing that comes up, and I will spend the rest of my life proving that.”

Perry admitted he knew Friends will be at the forefront of fans’ minds, but he hoped the opening of the “Perry House in Malibu, a sober living facility for men” would also be part of his legacy.

“But if I die, as far as my so-called achievements go, it would be nice if I did Friends were far behind the things I was doing to help other people,” he said on the podcast. “I know it won’t happen, but it would be nice.”

According to the Matthew Perry Foundation websitethe group is committed to “helping others struggling with the disease of addiction” and hopes to honor Perry’s wishes by keeping his “passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible” at the forefront of the organization.

Most of Perry’s discussion about his battle with substance abuse came from his 2022 memoir, Friends, lovers and the big terrible thingwhere he wrote about the various ups and downs in his life.

In the book, Perry revealed that he was only “completely sober” for one season of Friends, the show’s ninth season.

“You can trace the trajectory of my addiction if you measure my weight from season to season – if I’m carrying weight, it’s alcohol; when I’m skinny it’s pills,” he wrote. “If I have a goatee, it’s a lot of pills.”