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.
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.
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.”
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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.”
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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, Canadaand 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.
Comedian Dane Baptiste has apologised to the “Jewish community, my colleagues and my fans” following criticism over a now-deleted social media post.
The stand-up star, who has appeared on TV shows including 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Live At The Apollo, and Mock The Week, has been dropped by his talent agency Insanity.
The company said the contents of a deleted post were “completely at odds with our values and what we stand for”.
The Metropolitan Police has also been made aware of the post.
Baptiste said he had made “a massive error of judgment” after receiving “a number of threatening and abusive messages from accounts accusing me of antisemitism for having pro-Palestinian views”.
The comedian said his partner had made him aware that “some of these same people” were monitoring her Instagram account.
In an apology posted on social media, Baptiste said: “In a massive error of judgment, I posted an excessive and impulsive response, hoping to dissuade anybody monitoring my family.
“I made a point to say Zionist and not Jewish, but I appreciate how disturbing, threatening and incendiary that language is, I would categorically state I have no ill intention towards the Jewish community and never have.
“I have a loving family of which I am massively protective of; I reacted poorly and emotionally to a perceived threat with no considered thought to the consequences, and I apologise profusely for my actions to the Jewish community, my colleagues and my fans.”
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Baptiste was the first black comedian to be nominated for the award for best newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2014, and also fronted the BBC Three sketch programme Bamous.
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In a statement, a spokesperson for Insanity said: “Insanity became aware of a social media post published by Dane on Instagram yesterday.
“The contents of his post are completely at odds with our values and what we stand for. We promptly made this clear to him, and are no longer working with him.
“As an organisation we do not tolerate hate speech of any kind and are committed to the values of respect and tolerance for all.”
Universal Music and TikTok have ended a dispute over royalties after the label pulled millions of songs from the social media platform.
The new licensing agreement means songs by some of the biggest artists in the world, including Drake, Adeleand Billie Eilish will return to the site for use within the next two weeks.
TikTok, a short video app, is a valuable marketing and promotional tool for music stars. But in January, Universal claimed it paid artists and songwriters “a fraction” of the rate offered by similar social media platforms, and announced it was pulling its catalogue.
Universal is the biggest music label in the world and also looks after Taylor Swift– who allowed a selection of her songs to return to TikTok as she promoted her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, in April. Swift owns the copyrights to her recordings through her 2018 deal with Universal and can control where her songs are available, according to the Financial Times.
The companies now say they have come to “a new multi-dimensional” licensing agreement that will deliver “significant industry-leading benefits” for Universal’s artists and labels.
In a joint statement, TikTok said it would continue to invest resources into “building artist-centric tools” and work on strengthening online safety protections for artists and their fans.
The AI issue
The agreement means all videos that had been muted will be unmuted. It comes just over three months since Universal posted an open letter criticising TikTok, calling for higher payments for artists and songwriters, protection from the “harmful effects” of AI, and online safety.
In their joint statement, the companies now say they will work together to ensure AI development across the industry “will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters”.
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They will also work to remove unauthorised AI-generated music from the platform, as well as on tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution, the statement says.
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Universal chairman and chief executive Sir Lucian Grainge said the “new chapter” focuses “on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community”, while TikTok chief executive Shou Chew added: “Music is an integral part of the TikTok ecosystem, and we are pleased to have found a path forward with Universal Music Group.”
On Wednesday, a poll by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Music found that 83% of UK adults agree that a music artist’s creative “personality” should be protected in law against AI copies and 77% believe it amounts to theft when generated music fails to acknowledge the creator of the original.
Wales is to get its own version of talent show The Voice, it has been announced.
The series named Y Llais (Welsh for The Voice) will be presented by Radio 1 DJ Sian Eleri.
The Boom Cymru-produced show will make its debut on S4C next year.
Opera star Sir Bryn Terfel has been announced as one of the four coaches.
The Grammy award-winning artist performed at the King‘s coronation last May.
The Welsh-language version becomes the 75th international adaptation of The Voice format.
The series sees contestants take part in “blind auditions” as they hope to impress the coaches and prompt them to turn their chairs to proceed to the next round.
The ITV series The Voice UK also features a Welshman as part of its coaching line-up, with Sir Tom Jones joining will.i.am, LeAnn Rimes and McFly‘s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones.
The winner of the Welsh version will secure a 12-month mentoring scheme as well as further opportunities to perform on S4C programming.
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“It’s great that the Land of Song is getting its own special version of the The Voice series,” Sir Bryn Terfel said.
Sian Eleri said she was “delighted to be presenting one of the biggest shows in the world”.
“For it to be happening on home soil with S4C is next level. Bring on those rotating chairs,” she added.
“As a nation we have produced some of the most successful singers in the world, and with this format we’re looking forward to discovering the next big voice from Wales,” added S4C’s interim chief content officer Geraint Evans.
The deadline to apply is 21 June, with auditions set to take place in North Wales on 12 July and in South Wales on 15 July.