“Friends” co-creators Marta Kauffman, David Crane and executive producer Kevin Vibrant are heartbroken over the death of Matthew Perry, who played the favored Chandler Bing on the hit NBC sitcom.
Perry died Oct. 28 on the age of 54 in his LA home of an apparent drowning.
“We’re shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing,” they said in a joint statement to People. “It still seems not possible. All we are able to say is that we feel blessed to have had him as a part of our lives. He was a superb talent.”
Kauffman, Crane and Vibrant said they knew that Perry was right for the role of Chandler after they first met him.
“It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a task their very own, but in Matthew’s case, there are not any truer words,” they said. “From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was nobody else for us.”
Additionally they praised Perry as an individual, noting his intelligence and his humorousness.
“We’ll at all times cherish the enjoyment, the sunshine, the blinding intelligence he dropped at every moment — not simply to his work, but in life as well,” they said of their statement. “He was at all times the funniest person within the room.
“Greater than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart.”
Their last words included a nod to how the “Friends” episode titles at all times began with “The One.”
“We send all of our like to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken,” they concluded.
Hour earlier, Perry’s family broke their silence to the outlet.
“We’re heartbroken by the tragic lack of our beloved son and brother,” the statement read on Sunday. “Matthew brought a lot joy to the world, each as an actor and a friend.”
They added: “You all meant a lot to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of affection.”