One year after Matthew Perry’s tragic death, his loved ones — including his mom, Suzanne Morrison and stepfather, Keith Morrison — are opening up about a premonition the late “Friends” actor seemed to have before he died.
In an emotional interview with Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, Suzanne Morrison sat beside Perry’s other family members as she reflected on her relationship with her son before his death last year following an accidental drug overdose from ketamine.
“He went through a period, interestingly enough, just before he died where he was showing me one of his new houses. He came up to me and said, ‘I love you so much, and I’m so happy to be with you now,’” Perry's mother shared. “It was almost as though it was a premonition of 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.’”
“I think there was something … there was an inevitability to what was going to happen next to him, and he felt it very strongly,” she added. “But he said, ‘I’m not frightened anymore.’ And it worried me.”
It's a powerful conversation, Guthrie remarked after the clip was aired.
“There’s so much pain and sorrow, but [they] also have a real sense of purpose about the work that he was doing, helping others get sober,” she added. “It was the purpose of his life, and so there’s some stuff to announce around that too.”
Perry passed away on October 28, 2023, from acute effects of ketamine, as stated in his autopsy. Drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine effects were listed as contributing factors.
On the morning of his death, Perry's assistant administered a shot of ketamine to the actor around 8:30 a.m. By 12:45 p.m., Perry instructed Kenneth Iwamasa to give him another injection while the Friends star watched a movie. About 40 minutes later, Perry requested another injection, allegedly telling Iwamasa, "Shoot me up with a big one," according to the assistant's plea agreement.
The live-in assistant administered a third injection to Perry while the 54-year-old was near or in a Jacuzzi. Iwamasa then left the home to run errands for Perry. Upon returning, the assistant found Perry face down in the Jacuzzi, deceased.
Iwamasa found Perry unconscious at least twice at the actor's home throughout October 2023, according to the assistant's plea agreement. Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, causing death.
Four others have been charged in Perry's death, including middleman Erik Fleming, Jasveen Sangha, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, a ketamine source, and Dr. Mark Chavez, who allegedly taught the assistant how to inject Perry with the drug.
"When [Matthew] suddenly died, it was incredibly shocking. … Anybody who has lost a child will tell you that, even if you are in some way prepared for the possibility, it’s shattering," Morrison told Hello! Canada in a recent interview. "What we have decided to do is hang on to that determination and try to do something useful."
Perry's sister Caitlin now serves as the executive director of the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada as the family expands its outreach.
"The work that I'm doing now is very selfish because it kind of feels like I'm sitting right next to Matthew, working with him every day on something that was important to him," Caitlin told the outlet.
"I have this treasure of getting to keep him very, very close to my life all the time, which is wonderful," she said.
