Matthew Perry Cause of Death Revealed to Be ‘Acute Effects of Ketamine’

“Friends” star Matthew Perry was found to have had “acute effects of Ketamine” in his system when he fell unconscious in a hot tub at his Los Angeles house and drowned, per a toxicology report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Perry died Oct. 28 at the age of 54. The initial cause of death was ruled to be apparent drowning after he was found in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. Other factors, including coronary artery disease and impacts of the opioid buprenorphine — used to treat opioid use disorder — also played played a role in the actor’s death.

Drugs were reportedly not found at the scene, and foul play was not suspected. Authorities found him in the tub at around 4 p.m., the Los Angeles Times reports. Per TMZ, first responders received a call for a cardiac arrest.

Perry is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on “Friends.” He played the character for all 10 seasons of “Friends” from 1994-2004 and starred in each of its 234 episodes of the NBC sitcom, and the 2021 reunion special. Additional credits included “Ally McBeal,” “Home Free,” “The West Wing” and the movies “Fools Rush In” and “The Whole Nine Yards.”

Perry was open about his battle for sobriety over the years. In his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” he revealed that “Friends” costar Jennifer Aniston confronted him about his drinking while the pair worked together.

“‘How can you tell?’ I said. I never worked drunk. ‘I’ve been trying to hide it…’” he said, according to his book, before Aniston revealed that she and their castmates could smell the alcohol on him.

Perry also credited the show with changing his life in more ways than one. As he said, “They were understanding, and they were patient. It could be said that [doing the show] saved me.”

Stephanie Kaloi contributed to this report.

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