According to an insider, Matthew Perry’s Friends co-stars did not attend the second half of the actor’s funeral services.
Jennifer Aniston, 54; Lisa Kudrow, 60; Courteney Cox, 59; and David Schwimmer, 57, arrived as a quartet — all dressed in black suits and somber as they prepared to say their final goodbyes to Perry, 54, at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles.
After the simple hour-long ceremony, they were joined outside the church by Matt LeBlanc, 56, and were pictured chatting with other well-wishers.
But an insider told DailyMail.com that the cast did not attend the second half of their ‘family-like’ friend’s funeral services.
The insider said: ‘The cast of Friends was not present for the second half of the services which took place further away from the church in The Courts of Remembrance, which consists of several open-air courtyards.
‘It is a special, more remote area. More private. That part was attended only by Matthew’s family and closest friends. Less than 20 people.
Jennifer Aniston (back), Courteney Cox and David Schwimmer (center) and Lisa Kudrow (front) are seen Friday at the Forest Lawn Church of the Hills, in Los Angeles
Perry’s Friends co-stars said they were ‘devastated’ by his death and were more like family than castmates
The three women from Friends and David Schwimmer are seen entering the church on Friday to attend Matthew Perry’s funeral
‘At the first part of the services there were still about twenty. It was very intimate.
‘After the services, friends left while his family and several others took a car to the area where the coffin was brought and then carried to The Courts of Remembrance.’
His tearful mother Suzanne Morrison, 84, and Dateline journalist stepfather Keith, 76, were both at the private event, as was his father John Perry, 82. Keith Morrison was one of the pallbearers.
The cemetery where Perry is buried is located across from Warner Bros Studios, where Friends was filmed for ten seasons.
It is also the final resting place of a galaxy of Hollywood stars, including Carrie Fisher, Bette Davis, Stan Laurel, Buster Keaton, INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and Anne Heche.
The service ended with a rendition of the Peter Gabriel song ‘Don’t Give Up’ with the lyrics: ‘There’s no more fight, it seems, I’m a man whose dreams have all been abandoned, I’ve lost my face changed, I’ve changed my name, but no one wants you if you lose.’
In the photo, Perry’s casket is carried into the church on Friday
The 54-year-old’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, was one of seven people who carried the coffin
An onlooker told DailyMail.com: ‘There was no dry eyes there. There were many tears and laughter. Only close friends and family spoke.”
After the service, Perry was buried in a dark wooden casket. After the ceremony, crowds of black-clad mourners stood outside the church.
Some were seen hugging and comforting each other. Many wore dark sunglasses to protect their eyes from the bright California sun.
“Mrs. Aniston was one of the first to arrive. She kept herself to herself. This is a high-profile meeting,” the spectator further told DailyMail.com.
Aniston and Perry – born just six months apart – were the youngest of the six Friends and as such formed an instant camaraderie when the show was first taped in 1994.
He wrote in his 2022 memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing” that they first met three years before Friends started and he tried to date her, but she turned him down.
Perry and Aniston remained close friends for years after Friends ended and until his death
Jennifer Aniston was ‘among the first to arrive’ at Friends co-star Matthew Perry’s funeral, but ‘kept herself to herself’ during the simple, hour-long ceremony
But this early rejection didn’t stop Aniston and Perry from forming a close friendship during the ten years they spent together on the set of Friends – with Aniston supporting him in his battle against drug addiction.
“No one shed more tears for Matthew during the darkest points of his struggle with addiction than Jennifer,” a close friend of the actress told DailyMail.com.
‘At the time of the Friends reunion in 2021, there was speculation that Matthew wouldn’t be part of it because his demons had gotten the better of him. But without him, Jennifer definitely wouldn’t have done it.
‘He did his best and made a success of it, even though he seemed weak.
“But Jennifer really thought his worst days were behind him. So his death, just two years later, was a bitter blow to her.
“It doesn’t matter if he died as a result of a freak accident or if it was directly related to his drug problems, this was a day that Jennifer had been dreading for 20 years,” the friend added.
“She always wanted to help Matthew in any way she could, that was a constant for her.”
Just as Chandler and Rachel were never lovers, despite both having many other partners, neither were the actors who played them
Throughout his life, Perry had been open about his struggles with drugs and alcohol
After an initial investigation, the Los Angeles County coroner has delayed issuing a cause of death, which could take weeks to determine. Those who knew him claim Perry was clean and sober at the time of his death
Throughout his life, Perry had been open about his struggles with drugs and alcohol.
Common narcotics were not found in Perry’s system during initial testing, according to a TMZ report. But more in-depth testing is underway and should reveal whether the beloved actor had prescription drugs in his system.
When investigators went to Perry’s home, they found no illegal drugs, but did find prescription medications that were properly labeled and kept in storage bottles.
In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry wrote that after his colon exploded in 2018, he was prescribed opiates that he deemed insufficient to deal with his pain, prompting him to turn to street dealers to possibly supply him with fentanyl-laced OxyContin.
“The street pills cost about $75 a pill, so I gave the guy $3,000 a pop, many times a week,” he wrote.
After an initial investigation, the Los Angeles County coroner has delayed issuing a cause of death, which could take weeks to determine. Those who knew him claim Perry was clean and sober at the time of his death.