Lisa Kudrow was the last of the Friends cast to pay tribute to Matthew Perry. She recently posted a grainy behind-the-scenes photo of her and Perry on Instagram shortly after Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc shared their statements.
The throwback shot was taken shortly after filming the sitcom’s pilot for NBC in the late ’90s. “Shot the pilot, Friends Like Us, got picked up then immediately, we were at the NBC Upfronts,” Lisa wrote. “Then You suggested we play poker AND made it so much fun while we initially bonded. Thank you for that.”
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Lisa thanked Perry further for making her “laugh so hard” that her muscles ached. “Thank you for your open heart in a six-way relationship that required compromise,” she added. “And a lot of talking. Thank you for showing up at work when you weren’t well and then being completely brilliant.”
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The heartfelt tribute contained even more gratitude from Lisa, who played Phoebe Buffay throughout the 10-season run of the classic series. “Thank you for the best 10 years a person gets to have. Thank you for trusting me,” she concluded. “Thank you for all I learned about GRACE and LOVE through knowing you. Thank you for the time I got to have with you, Matthew.”
Lisa and Perry’s off-screen friendship
Perry was said to have his eye on some of his co-stars, including Lisa, which made filming difficult. “I had to pretend I didn’t have these crushes,” he told Diane Sawyer. Thanks to the “no hookup rule” the group maintained on set, Perry only maintained platonic relationships with his female colleagues.
The group was there for him through his mental and health struggles, especially when he fell into a coma after his colon exploded a few years ago. The late star also referenced their support during his battle with addiction in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, to which Lisa wrote the prologue letter. “I did come to understand that this disease relentlessly fed itself and was determined to keep going,” she explained. “He has survived impossible odds, but I had no idea how many times he almost didn’t make it.”