Matthew Perry’s Cause of Death Involves Ketamine
Matthew Perry at the after party for the FX Network's premiere screening of "Dirt" at Republic on December 9, 2006 in Los Angeles, California.
Matthew Perry’s toxicology results have been released, showing that the Friends star died from “the acute effects of ketamine.” Per ABC News, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that Perry was using the drug as part of infusion therapy for depression and anxiety less than two weeks before his death in October. However, the amount of ketamine found in his system at the time of his death “could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less,” the coroner’s office reports.
Additionally, the contributory factors in Perry’s death included drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine effects. Buprenorphine is used to diminish the effects of physical dependency to opioids, such as withdrawal symptoms and cravings. According to the Medical Examiner, ketamine caused both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression. While Matthew was open about his history of substance abuse, no illicit narcotics were found at his home. As we previously reported, Perry suffered from alcoholism and addiction issues. In his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, the actor detailed his addiction journey. A few years ago, he almost died due to his colon bursting from opioid overuse. When Perry was first cast on Friends as Chandler Bing at 24, his alcohol addiction was just starting to surface. He wrote in his memoir, “I could handle it, kind of. But by the time I was 34, I was really entrenched in a lot of trouble.”
RELATED: Jennifer Aniston: Matthew Perry Was ‘Happy’ on Date of Death
Perry died at the age of 54 on October 28. He was found unresponsive in his jacuzzi. First responders rushed to his property on a cardiac arrest call made by his assistant, and he was declared deceased on the scene after an apparent drowning. Perry’s career began in the ’80s. The actor racked up one-off or small arc appearances in a number of popular TV shows. They included Silver Spoons, The Tracey Ullman Show, Just the Ten of Us, Empty Nest and Growing Pains.
Perry, of course, reached incredible levels of stardom along with the rest of the cast of Friends. The series ran for 234 episodes from 1994-2004. During the show’s run, Perry received one Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2002 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Friends won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002.
Celebrity Deaths 2023: Musicians, Entertainers & Cultural Figures We Lost
We’ve had to say goodbye to some big names this year in the worlds of entertainment, sports, politics and beyond. To be frank, it was an absolutely brutal year.
So many giants in music died in 2023. Guitar god Jeff Beck died suddenly in January at age 78 after contracting bacterial meningitis. In February, legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach died at age 94. Singer, actor and civil rights icon Harry Belafonte died in April at age 96 from congestive heart failure. In May, the world lost Tina Turner – the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll – at age 83. Iconic pop singer Tony Bennett died in July at age 96.
The worlds of television and film were not immune to significant loss in 2023. Sitcom mastermind Norman Lear died in December at age 101. Three’s Company star Suzanne Somers died in October at age 76 from an aggressive form of breast cancer. Matthew Perry also died in October. The Friends star was only 54. Bob Barker, longtime host of The Price is Right, died in August at age 99. Paul Reubens, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, died in July at age 70 following a private battle with cancer.
The sports world was rocked by the deaths of three major wrestling figures. In June, The Iron Sheik (Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri) died at age 81. Then, in August, there were two back-to-back deaths. First, WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk died at age 79. Funk’s hardcore style has been influential to generations of wrestlers that followed. Then, Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) suddenly died at age 36. The young wrestler died after contracting COVID, which exacerbated a heart issue and led to a heart attack.
Scroll through the gallery below to see the musicians, celebrities and other cultural figures we’ve lost in 2023.
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.
