Matthew Perry’s cause of death is listed as ‘deferred’ pending final results of toxicology tests – but his body has been released to his family so his funeral can be arranged
- Matthew Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his LA home on Saturday
- The Canadian actor, 54, wrote in his memoir that he spent half his life in rehab
- On Sunday evening, the coroner said his cause of death was ‘delayed’
The Los Angeles County coroner has listed Matthew Perry’s cause of death as “deferred” pending final toxicology test results.
Perry, 54, was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on Saturday.
On Sunday afternoon, the coroner released his body to the family, but said they have not yet determined a cause of death.
His assistant’s first 911 call was for cardiac arrest.
The medical examiner’s office may release initial results within days, but it could also take six to eight weeks for final results from toxicology tests to come back.
Los Angeles law enforcement sources told TMZ that no illegal drugs were found at his Pacific Palisades home.
Matthew Perry is pictured on October 21, the last time he was seen in public. His cause of death is being postponed pending toxicology tests
Sources did say that antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, including pills for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), were found in Perry’s home.
Perry had a long struggle with drugs and alcohol, and was also a smoker.
Perry wrote in his memoir published last year that he spent $9 million to get sober. He revealed that he had attended 6,000 AA meetings, been to rehab 15 times and been in detox 65 times.
An LAPD source told The New York Post, “We responded to the 1800 block of Blue Sail Rd at 4:10 this afternoon for an investigation into the death of a man. He was in his fifties.’
TMZ shared 16 seconds of message audio in which a man can be heard saying “rescue 23” and “drowning.”
Perry had multiple health problems.
A 1997 jet ski accident on the set of his film Fools Rush In left him hospitalized and later became addicted to the opioid painkiller Vicodin.
He said at one point he was taking 55 Vicodin pills a day and his weight dropped to 128 pounds.
In 2000 he was taken to hospital with pancreatitis and in 2018 his colon burst.
“The doctors told my family I had a 2% chance of living,” Perry told Diane Sawyer during a promotional interview for his book.
‘I was given a so-called ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.’
Perry spent nearly two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital, after which he used a colostomy bag for nine months.
He said he overcame his addiction in 2021 and lived a healthier lifestyle.