The family of late actor Matthew Perry spoke about carrying on his Foundation dedicated to helping people who are battling with addiction.
In an exclusive interview with People, Perry’s family opened up about the Matthew Perry Foundation, which launched on Nov. 3, due to his “enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction.” per the website’s mission statement.
“It is important to us, as a family, to honor Matthew’s legacy. The potential that the Matthew Perry Foundation has to help those suffering from this disease is something we are proud to bring to the world,” Perry’s family shared.
On Monday, Perry’s stepfather and “Dateline” correspondent Keith Morrison promoted the Foundation on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different. And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday,” he wrote.
Morrison added, “Do what you can; he would have been grateful.”
On Oct. 28, the “Friends” star Perry was found dead in his jacuzzi following an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home, TMZ reported. He was 54 years old.
Perry was vocal about his addiction to Vicodin and alcohol which he said was a “big problem” that he “couldn’t stop” during a 2013 interview with People.
“Eventually things got so bad that I couldn’t hide it, and then everybody knew.”
However, after years of battling his addiction, Perry said “something clicked,” which led him to want to get sober.
“You have to want the help,” he added.
In November 2022, Perry appeared on the “Q With Tom Power” podcast and revealed he wanted to be remembered for helping others overcome addiction.
“When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned — I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that,” he said.