Matthew Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison says actor 'felt like he was beating' addiction before death
LOS ANGELES - It's been nearly five months since beloved "Friends" star Matthew Perry passed away.
His stepfather, Canadian broadcaster and "Dateline" correspondent Keith Morrison, is addressing Perry's absence, admitting the grief is difficult and the circumstances are "not fair."
Los Angeles, California October 28, 2023-Keith Morrison crosses the police tape down the street from where Matthew Perry's house in Pacific Palisades Saturday night. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
"He felt like he was beating it. But you never beat it, and he knew that, too," Morrison said of Perry's past with addiction while appearing on Hoda Kotb's podcast, "Making Space."
"He was happy, and he said so. And he hadn't said that for a long time," Morrison admitted. "It's a source of comfort, but also, you know he didn't get to have his third act, and that's not fair."
An autopsy report revealed in December that Perry died from acute effects of ketamine. Coronary artery disease and buprenorphrine effects were also listed as additional conditions that contributed to his death. The actor was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home in October.
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"As other people have told me, hundreds of times, it doesn't go away. It’s with you every day. It’s with you all the time, and there’s some new aspect of it that assaults your brain," Morrison said of the grieving process. "It’s not easy. Especially for his mom," referencing his wife, Suzanne.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - OCTOBER 14: Actor Matthew Perry arrives at the 9th Annual Dinner Benefiting the Lili Claire Foundation at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 14, 2006 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
"Toward the end of his life, they were closer than I've seen them – had seen them for decades. Texting each other constantly. Him sharing things with her that most middle-aged men don't share with their mothers."
Morrison, who was photographed arriving on the scene the night Perry died, also spoke about whether the news of Perry's death surprised him. "It was the news you never want to get, but you think someday you might," he shared. "Yes and no, I guess is the answer to that."
"He was a larger-than-life person," Morrison added of Perry. "He was always the center of attention everywhere he went… That kind of personality. He was goofy, he was funny, he was acerbic. But even if he didn't say a word, he was the center of attention."
"It's gone, but you still feel the echo of it everywhere," he said of Perry's presence.