Lisa Kudrow Reveals How Matthew Perry Predicted His Own Death

Lisa Kudrow just revealed a new detail from a conversation she had with Friends co-star Matthew Perry about his death at 54..

In a recent episode of Jesse Ferguson’s Dinner’s On Me podcast, Kudrow said Perry told her before his death in October 2023, “‘It won’t be a surprise, but it will be a shock.’”

“And that was exactly right,” Kudrow said, “He was so smart.”

Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home, after which an autopsy revealed that he’d drowned after suffering from the acute effects of ketamine.

The actor had been open about his road to recovery from drug addiction, especially in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. Kudrow didn’t divulge whether she knew if Perry had relapsed when he made those ominous comments to her.

“It wasn’t a surprise, but it was a shock,” she said on the podcast, “It was a big jolt. But I don’t know. I think personally, I think he died happy in the days around his passing. I think he was happy and excited about what’s coming next.”

After his death, a police investigation charged five people in connection with Perry’s death—including his live-in assistant who authorities say worked together with two doctors, a known ketamine dealer, and the dealer’s middleman to keep Perry supplied with the drugs.

The Friends cast has steered clear of speaking on much about Perry besides remembering him with love, through a group statement and individual social media tributes following the news of his passing.

Kudrow’s reveal is one of few publicly shared insights into Perry’s mindset by any one in the group before he died. “I have to say,” Kudrow also said on the podcast, “It shook us up.”