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Matthew Perry, best known for his role on hit US sitcom Friends, has died of an apparent drowning at his home.

The actor was 54 years old.

A 911 call was received by Los Angeles Police, at 4.07pm local time (12.07am UK time).

The incident at the star’s Pacific Palisades home in LA was treated as a water rescue, a police source said.

According to The LA Times and TMZ, Perry died in a hot tub or Jacuzzi.

There was no apparent foul play and no confirmed cause of death. An investigation is ongoing.

Perry was open about his past addictions prescription drugs and alcohol.

Read more:
Matthew Perry: ‘A true gift to us all’

Perry in 2022. Pic: AP
Image:
Perry in 2022. Pic: AP

He shot to fame for his role on 1990s sitcom Friends, alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer.

The hit show followed the close-knit group living in New York, with Perry playing Chandler Bing, who became known for his use of sarcastic one-liners.

Cast of Friends
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The cast of Friends

The show ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004, with a reunion special in 2021.

Around a year ago, Perry embarked on a press tour for the release of his memoir Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir.

He spoke about his battle with addiction – including a near-death experience in 2019 after his colon burst as a result of opioid use.

Matthew Perry with Friends co-stars Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston
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The one where Chandler married Monica

Perry recalled one instance when Aniston confronted him about being inebriated while filming.

“I know you’re drinking,” he remembered her telling him.

“We can smell it,” she said in what Perry called a “kind of weird but loving way” – adding: “The plural ‘we’ hit me like a sledgehammer.”

Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler’s on-again-off-again girlfriend Janice Litman-Goralnik, was among those paying tributes.

Posting on social media, she wrote: “I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”

Actor and author Selma Blair also posted a tribute, with the caption: “My oldest friend.”

The star, who appeared in 1999 drama Cruel Intentions and film Legally Blonde, wrote that she was “broken-hearted” and loved Perry “unconditionally”.

In a statement, NBC Entertainment, which aired Friends, confirmed Perry’s death saying: “We are incredibly saddened by the too soon passing of Matthew Perry. He brought so much joy to hundreds of millions of people around the world with his pitch-perfect comedic timing and wry wit. His legacy will live on through countless generations.”

Actor Octavia Spencer and presenter Piers Morgan also paid tribute to Perry, with Spencer writing: “His gift to the world will be remembered forever.”

Born in Massachusetts, Perry was raised in Ottawa, Canada and moved to LA to pursue an acting career at the age of 15 – joining the cast of Friends at the age of 24.

He received one Emmy nomination for his role as Chandler, and a further two for appearances on political drama television series The West Wing.

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Aerial view of Matthew Perry’s home

Perry had several other notable film roles, starring opposite Salma Hayek in the 1997 romantic comedy Fools Rush In, and alongside Bruce Willis in the crime comedy The Whole Nine Yards in 2004.

In 2021, Perry appeared alongside his Friends co-stars for a reunion special.

Hosted by James Corden, the original cast members visited old sets, including the Central Perk coffee shop, re-enacted some scenes and discussed the continuation of their characters’ storylines.

Before acting, Perry was a top-ranked junior tennis player in Canada. He used to practice up to 10 hours a day, according to Tennis Canada.

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BST Hyde Park’s final day cancelled as Jeff Lynne’s ELO pulls out of headline slot

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BST Hyde Park's final day cancelled as Jeff Lynne's ELO pulls out of headline slot

BST Hyde Park festival has cancelled its final night after Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra pulled out of the headline slot.

Lynne, 77, was due to play alongside his band on Sunday but has been forced to withdraw from the event following a “systemic infection”.

The London show was supposed to be a “final goodbye” from ELO following their farewell US tour.

Organisers said on Saturday that Lynne was “heartbroken” at being unable to perform.

A statement read: “Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule.

“The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff’s mind today – and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time.”

They later confirmed the whole of Sunday’s event would be cancelled.

“Ticket holders will be refunded and contacted directly by their ticket agent with further details,” another statement said.

Stevie Wonder played the festival on Saturday – now its final event of 2025.

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US rock band The Doobie Brothers and blues rock singer Steve Winwood were among those who had been due to perform to before ELO’s headline performance.

The cancellation comes after the band, best known for their hit Mr Blue Sky, pulled out of a performance due to take place at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena on Thursday.

ELO was formed in Birmingham in 1970 by Lynne, multi-instrumentalist Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan.

They first split in 1986, before frontman Lynne resurrected the band in 2014.

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Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s US citizenship

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Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O'Donnell's US citizenship

Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”

He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.

O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.

“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.

“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”

Rosie O'Donnell arrives at the ELLE Women in Hollywood celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP

O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.

She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.

O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.

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Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?

This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.

But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.

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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.

“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.

“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”

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The Salt Path author Raynor Winn’s fourth book delayed

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The Salt Path author Raynor Winn's fourth book delayed

The Salt Path author Raynor Winn’s fourth book has been delayed by her publisher.

It comes amid claims that the author lied about her story in her hit first book. Winn previously described the claims as “highly misleading” and called suggestions that her husband had Moth made up his illness “utterly vile”.

In a statement, Penguin Michael Joseph, said it had delayed the publication of Winn’s latest book On Winter Hill – which had been set for release 23 October.

The publisher said the decision had been made in light of “recent events, in particular intrusive conjecture around Moth’s health”, which it said had caused “considerable distress” to the author and her family.

“It is our priority to support the author at this time,” the publisher said.

“With this in mind, Penguin Michael Joseph, together with the author, has made the decision to delay the publication of On Winter Hill from this October.”

A new release date will be announced in due course, the publisher added.

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Winn’s first book, released in 2018, detailed the journey she and husband took along the South West Coast Path – familiarly known as The Salt Path – after they lost their family farm and Moth received a terminal health diagnosis of Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD).

But a report in The Observer disputed key aspects of the 2018 “true” story – which was recently turned into a film starring Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson.

Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear
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Raynor and husband Moth (centre) with actors Jason Isaacs (L) and Gillian Anderson (R). Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear

Experts ‘sceptical of health claims’

As part of the article, published last weekend, The Observer claimed to have spoken to experts who were “sceptical” about elements of Moth’s terminal diagnosis, such as a “lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them”.

In the ensuing controversy, PSPA, a charity that supports people with CBD, cut ties with the couple.

The Observer article also claimed the portrayal of a failed investment in a friend’s business wasn’t true, but said the couple – whose names are Sally and Tim Walker – lost their home after Raynor Winn embezzled money from her employer and had to borrow to pay it back and avoid police action.

Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear
Image:
Anderson played Winn in a movie about the couple’s journey. Pic: Steve Tanner/Black Bear

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It also said that, rather than being homeless, the couple had owned a house in France since 2007.

Winn’s statement said the dispute with her employer wasn’t the reason the couple lost their home – but admitted she may have made “mistakes” while in the job.

“For me it was a pressured time,” she wrote. “It was also a time when mistakes were being made in the business. Any mistakes I made during the years in that office, I deeply regret, and I am truly sorry.”

She admitted being questioned by police but said she wasn’t charged.

The author also said accusations that Moth lied about having CBD/CBS were false and had “emotionally devastated” him.

“I have charted Moth’s condition with such a level of honesty, that this is the most unbearable of the allegations,” Winn wrote on her website.

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