Perry, 54, died on Saturday after apparently drowning in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles. The LA Times <\/em>reported that there was no sign of foul play, and that the Los Angeles Police Department\u2019s robbery-homicide detectives are investigating.<\/p>\n Matthew Perry last year.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n Comments Perry made in both his memoir and an interview last year have resurfaced since the news of his death on the weekend, in which he discusses the work he had done to help others in the grip of drug and alcohol addiction, issues he himself had battled for a long time.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I die,\u201d Perry said in an interview last year, \u201cI don\u2019t want Friends<\/em> to be the first thing that\u2019s mentioned, I want [helping others] to be the first thing that\u2019s mentioned, and I\u2019m going to live the rest of my life proving that.\u201d <\/p>\n In 2013 Perry set up a sober living facility for men called Perry House in Malibu. It closed two years later.<\/p>\n In the interview, for the podcast Q with Tom Power, <\/em>Perry said, \u201cThe best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes up to me and says \u2018I can\u2019t stop drinking, can you help me?\u2019 I can say yes, and follow up and do it.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that shortly after the book\u2019s release, he had been heartened to hear how people had been responding to it. \u201cWhat it\u2019s about is helping people, and I\u2019ve heard already five stories of people that read the book and checked into treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n Perry also wrote a play, The End of Longing<\/em>, which he described as \u201ca personal message to the world, an exaggerated form of me as a drunk\u201d. \u201cI had something important to say to people like me and to say to people who love people like me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Written in just 10 days and then a year in development, the play was based on four people in their 40s who are searching for the meaning of life. It was performed in the West End in 2016 and also staged off-Broadway in 2017. He starred in both productions.<\/p>\n Speaking about the transition from actor to writer, Perry told the UK Stage<\/em> magazine that \u201cbeing on stage makes you feel naked. Being on stage in a play that I have written will make me feel doubly naked\u201d.<\/p>\n Around the world, various tributes were paid to the actor on the weekend, with the bells of a cathedral in Bruges ringing out the Friends<\/em> theme song, which was also played by Adele and Charlie Puth at gigs last night.<\/p>\n The actor\u2019s family released a statement on Sunday saying, \u201cMatthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend.\u201d \u201cWe are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother,\u201d they told People<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n They thanked his fans by saying, \u201cYou all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n