Matthew Perry Wanted to Be Remembered for Helping Others Get Sober Instead of Just ‘Friends’: ‘I’m Gonna Live the Rest of My Life Proving That’

variety.com:

Michaela Zee Matthew Perry discussed what he wanted to be remembered for most during an interview that occurred a year before his death.

The “Friends” star died Saturday at age 54. Perry spoke publicly about his legacy on the “Q With Tom Power” podcast in 2022 while promoting his memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.” “I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker,” Perry said. “And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people.

That’s what I want.” Perry had been outspoken about his alcohol and drug abuse issues in his career. In 1997, after a jet ski accident, he became addicted to Vicodin and went to rehab in 2001.

He later turned his former Malibu home into a sober living facility called the Perry House, which ran until 2015. In 2021, Perry declared that he was sober and estimated that he spent $9 million on his road to sobriety. “The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it,” Perry said. “When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned.