Matthew Perryrecalled his friendship with costarRiver Phoenixand the actor’s untimely death in his memoir.
TheFriendsactor died suddenly on Saturday at age 54. In his bookFriends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thingpublished in November 2022, Perry called Phoenix “beautiful” and shared how they became fast friends while making the 1988 movieA Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon.
Tuesday marks 30 years since Phoenix died on Oct. 31, 1993, from a drug overdose at age 23.
Perry wrote that Phoenix “personified beauty in every way” and that he “made you feel too comfortable to even be jealous of him.” Perry said the project was his first job at 17 when they filmed in Chicago — “and the cherry on top of this deeply magical time was that River and I became firm friends.”
“River was a beautiful man, inside and out — too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down,” wrote Perry.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
River Phoenix and Matthew Perry in “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon” (1988).20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection
20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection
He also recalled finding out about Phoenix’s death, which happened outside the Viper Room nightclub in West Hollywood.
Cinematic/Alamy
On Tuesday, Phoenix’s mom Arlyn “Heart” shared aphotoof her late son on Instagram tomark three decades since his death. She wrote that he was a “voice for the voiceless and had the courage to use his celebrity to make a difference.”
“Whether it was for human rights, animal rights, women’s rights, racial justice, environmentalism, or any wrong that needed to be righted, he was there,” she wrote.
In his memoir, Perry got candid about struggling with alcoholism and addiction while in the spotlight. Hetold PEOPLE in 2022why he felt compelled to share his story in the book and help others.
Matthew Perry on Nov. 17, 2022.Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic
“I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side of everything again,” he said at the time. “I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober — and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction — to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
Matthew Perry’s memoirFriends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thingis now available wherever books are sold.
Nigel Parry/Trunk Archive
For more about Matthew Perry, pick up the latest issue ofPEOPLE, on newsstands Friday
source: people.com
