Matthew Perry Wanted His Legacy To Be About How He Helped Other People

Every person contemplates death in a different way and has thought about how they want to be remembered when they are gone. So did Matthew Perry. And just after the tragic news of his death, how he wanted people to remember him has come up to the surface.

Back in 2022, when he spoke on the podcast Q with Tom Power to promote Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, his own memoir, he talked about how he hopes his legacy to continue or he wants people to remember him.

He mentioned, “I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker. And (my) paramount thing is that (I) want to help people. That’s what I want. The best thing about me, bar none, is that if an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me?’ I can say yes and follow up and do it.”

He is not just a friend, he is a lot more than that  

Along with that, he also knew how his obituary would go, as he mentioned in another circulation on X. He said, “When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I’m glad of that, happy I’ve done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web.”

He further added, “But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won’t happen, but it would be nice.”

Mathew Perry has left behind the Perry House, which is a sober living facility. In his memoir, he mentioned that he also wrote a play called, The End Of Longing, which “is a personal message to the world, an exaggerated form of me as a drunk. I had something important to say to people like me and to people who love people like me.”