Matthew Perry's mother tells how she found out about her 'lonely' son's death

Matthew Perry's family spoke out in an emotional interview with the Today show, which aired in full on Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of his death.

“Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie was joined by Perry's mother Suzanne Perry, stepfather Keith Morrison and sisters Emily, Caitlin and Madeleine Morrison.

“(Lighting a room is) something you are born with or not. And he was certainly born with it in abundance,” the 77-year-old “Dateline” host gushed about his stepson.

“But it needs to be said, I think,” Suzanne chimed in. “That he was also very lonely in his soul.”

The “Friends” alum died on October 28, 2023 at his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was 54.

An autopsy conducted by Los Angeles County determined he died of a ketamine overdose. The report listed the manner of death as accidental drowning.

“I am a very happy woman, but there was a mistake. There was a problem I couldn’t solve,” Suzanne continued. “I couldn’t help him.”

She added: “You have to stop blaming yourself because it's tearing you apart.”

Morrison, who married Suzanne in 1981, noted that Matthew was “often a very sad guy.”

Perry's parents were John Bennett Perry and Suzanne. Suzanne was previously press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. She and Keith had four children together: Caitlin, Emily, Will and Madeline. Matthew had a fifth half-sibling, Maria Perry. Maria is the daughter of Perry's father and his second wife Debbie.

“There was always a feeling of celebration when he came over,” Caitlin told Guthrie. “Even when he struggled in dark times, we were always proud of him. We were always proud that he continued to fight and made helping other people a big focus of his life.”

Emily, pausing to hold back tears, joked that Mathew was “grumpy the whole time, but funny the whole time.”

She continued: “All he ever wanted was to love and be loved. He struggled so much to feel peace. And I think he’s gotten to a point where he’s done it.”

The “17 Again” star described in his memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible” that he attended about 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and went to rehab 15 times over the course of his life. At the height of his difficulties, he was also taking 55 Vicodin tablets a day, causing his weight to drop to 128 pounds at one point.

Additionally, he estimated that he spent around $9 million trying to get sober.

Suzanne and Keith were photographed in Matthew's apartment shortly after news of his death broke.

“Someone called Suzanne and just said, 'Matthew's dead,'” Keith recalled on Today, without giving context as to who was calling.

“'Matthew is dead,'” Suzanne said. “'Your son is dead.'”

His loved ones have since launched the Matthew Perry Foundation, which helps people battling substance abuse.

“He taught the world that no amount of money can cure an addict. Something else is needed. And that’s what we’re trying to do,” Keith explained.

To Keith, it “seemed as if” Matthew had been sober before his death.

“Although, you know, he was a guy who made decisions. “I can handle it. I can do that. I can tell you what is right. I know the whole system inside and out. I know what the drug will do to me.' And so there was the concern: 'What is he really doing?'” he asked.

One of his sisters added: “I don’t even know if he has relapsed in his mind.”

Keith agreed, noting, “I don't think he did that.”

Suzanne often calls her son when something funny happens in her life – and sits in the cemetery “for a while” and talks to him.

Earlier this month, Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, guilty of distributing the surgical anesthetic ketamine, which contributed to Matthew's fatal overdose, in exchange for cooperation with the government. He faces up to 10 years in prison, but under federal sentencing guidelines he is likely to receive a lighter sentence.

Perry received off-label doses of ketamine from his primary care doctor to treat depression.

In addition to Chavez, drug dealer and so-called “Ketamine Queen” Jasveen Sangha Perry also allegedly sold the lethal dose of the substance, and Dr. Salvador Plasencia is said to have sold the drug to the actor in the month before his death.

As for the family's opinion of the ongoing investigation, Suzanne told “Today”: “I'm thrilled.”