Matthew Perry’s mom, Suzanne Morrison, is speaking out almost a year since the “Friends” star’s death.
In an intimate interview with Today’s Savannah Guthrie, Morrison recounted the tender moments she had with her son before his death.
“He went through a period, interestingly enough, just before he died when he was showing me one of his new houses,” she said. “He came up to me and he said, ‘I love you so much, and I’m so happy to be with you now. And I’m so…’ It was almost as though it was a premonition or something. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I thought, ‘How long has it been since we’ve had a conversation like that?’ It’s been years.”
Perry was the only child of Morrison and ex-husband John Bennett Perry. After their divorce, Morrison married “Dateline” correspondent Keith Morrison, and they had four children together. John Bennett Perry also remarried and had one child with his second wife.
Reflecting on her last days with the actor, Suzanne Morrison said “there was an inevitability to what was going to happen next to him, and he felt it very strongly.”
“But he said, ‘I’m not frightened anymore,’” she continued. “And it worried me.”
Perry died Oct. 28, 2023, at age 54 after being found in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, the actor died of acute effects of ketamine. The autopsy report, obtained by NBC News in December 2023, detailed that the ketamine likely resulted in him becoming unconscious and drowning, and his existing coronary artery disease exacerbated the ketamine’s effects on his heart.
Ketamine is a “dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects,” according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Ketamine can also be used as a therapy for mental illnesses, like depression and anxiety.
Perry’s autopsy report stated that his last known treatment was a week and a half prior to his death. Over the years, the actor was vocal about his drug and alcohol use and battles with depression.
The autopsy report noted that Perry had been “reportedly clean for 19 months” before he died. It did not specify if the actor had relapsed before his death.
In August of this year, Los Angeles prosecutors said Perry had been using ketamine unsupervised and had become addicted. Five people — including his personal assistant, two doctors and an alleged drug dealer — were charged in connection with his death. Authorities said that the five individuals, knowing of Perry’s addiction, took advantage of his vulnerable condition to profit themselves.
“They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said at a news conference, per NBC News. “But they did it anyways. In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well being.”
After the charges, Perry’s family said in a statement that while they “were and still are heartbroken” by the actor’s death, “it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously. We look forward to justice taking its course.”
