Matthew Perry’s Sister Recalls Friends Cast Gathering at His Funeral
Friends cast at the funeral
In The One About Matthew Perry, which premiered Tuesday, October 27, Bowick recalled seeing the five Friends actors at her brother’s funeral. She said she had not seen them in about 20 years, and that Aniston was the first to approach and hug her.
Bowick said all five cast members then walked to the casket holding hands and stood around Perry, crying. The actors had remained close after Friends ended in 2004 and reunited for an HBO Max special in 2021.
A moment of laughter
Bowick described feeling Perry’s presence behind her shoulder at the funeral. In her account, he made a blunt remark about the situation, and she began laughing despite the grief and the solemn setting.
She said the moment felt both painful and funny. Bowick recalled recognizing the imagined comment as characteristic of her brother’s ability to make her laugh at an inappropriate time.
Why the cast did not appear
Director Mary Robertson told Page Six that the production asked the Friends actors to participate, but they declined. Robertson said people grieve in different ways and understood why they might not want to speak then.
Robertson said she also understood why Bowick felt the documentary was the right moment to share a candid, vulnerable and funny account of loving her brother. Days after Perry’s death, his former costars had described themselves as a family and said they needed time to grieve and process the loss.
Death and legal cases
Perry, who played Chandler Bing on Friends, died at age 54. The article reports that his death was attributed to the acute effects of ketamine; a toxicology report also listed drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects as contributing factors.
His death was ruled an accident. An initial investigation was closed in January 2024 and later reopened, and five people have faced federal charges connected to his death. Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and four others pleaded guilty to charges involving ketamine distribution.
Key points
- Mia Perry Bowick recalled the Friends cast gathering at Perry’s open-casket funeral.
- Bowick said Jennifer Aniston hugged her before the five actors approached the casket together.
- Director Mary Robertson said the cast declined to participate in the documentary.
- Five people have faced federal charges connected to Perry’s death.