Matthew Perry: Aniston leads final Friends’ tribute to ‘our Matty’

Friends actors Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow have paid their first tributes to co-star Matthew Perry following his death last month.

Schwimmer, who played Ross in the US TV sitcom, shared a picture on Instagram of himself alongside Perry as Chandler.

“Thanks you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity,” he wrote.

Aniston, who played Rachel, posted a clip of her and Perry from the sitcom and wrote: “We loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA.”

Kudrow, who was Phoebe in the sitcom that ran on NBC from 1994 to 2004, wrote in an Instagram post: “Thank you for making me laugh so hard at something you said, that my muscles ached, and tears poured down my face EVERY DAY.”

Perry, 54, was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home at the end of October.

“Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before,” Aniston wrote on Wednesday.

“He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard. In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again.

“Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain.”

In his message, Schwimmer wrote: “I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery. You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes.

“And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers.”

And Kudrow posted a photo of herself and Perry, thanking him “for the best 10 years a person gets to have”.

The comments by Schwimmer, Aniston and Kudrow come a day after fellow co-stars Courtney Cox and Matt LeBlanc also paid tribute to Perry.

Cox, who played his on-screen wife Monica, said she was “so grateful for every moment they worked together”.

LeBlanc, who starred as flatmate Joey, shared pictures of him on set with Perry and wrote on Instagram: “The times we had together are honestly among the favourite times of my life.”

The cast of Friends had previously issued a joint statement saying they were “utterly devastated” by the loss of their fellow star.

Perry’s funeral took place earlier this month with his co-stars reportedly in attendance. Authorities are still investigating the cause of his death.

His post-mortem examination was inconclusive, while officials await the results of toxicology tests.

After his death, a new foundation was set up in his name to continue his commitment to “helping others struggling with the disease of addiction” following his public battles with alcohol and drugs.