Matthew Perry's Friend Recalls Conversation the Day Before He Died
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00:00 People are speculating as to what he was doing the day before he died.
00:05 He was so happy and so bright and so enthusiastic and cracking jokes and being funny and just
00:12 being the guy that he was and then he's gone.
00:16 One of the last people to see Matthew Perry breaks her silence, just days after the Friends
00:21 star was found dead at his LA home.
00:23 In photos obtained by TMZ, Athena Crosby dines out with Matthew Friday.
00:28 Where were you when you heard about his passing and how shocking was it to you because you
00:33 had just been with him?
00:34 I was absolutely shocked and devastated.
00:37 I remember thinking that this can't be real.
00:41 The 25-year-old entertainment journalist telling ET about his state of mind one day before
00:46 his death at 54 years old.
00:48 How was he feeling when you had lunch with him?
00:52 Great.
00:53 He is a very funny person.
00:56 As most people know him to be, he's goofy, he's silly.
00:59 He was cracking jokes the whole time.
01:01 We were talking about how there's been a public resurgence of interest in him lately and how
01:07 he was hoping to utilize that to have a second act in his career.
01:14 He was doing extremely, extremely well.
01:16 He was happy as a clam.
01:18 That's the person that I spoke to.
01:20 He was, I think, so optimistic and happy about everything that he wanted to do.
01:25 How did you meet Matthew?
01:26 Because he's a pretty big star.
01:28 We just met through a mutual friend and I am somebody who's always looking to meet more
01:35 interesting people.
01:36 He had so many different projects coming up.
01:38 I think he was looking to meet other creative people, like-minded people like him who would
01:42 support him in his endeavors.
01:44 One of those endeavors?
01:45 Well, she claims Matthew was considering a biopic about his life story.
01:49 No, no, yes.
01:50 I take this seriously.
01:52 Yes.
01:53 Matthew wanted his 17 again counterpart, Zac Efron, to once more play a younger version
01:58 of him on screen.
01:59 He said that he wanted Zac Efron to play him and that he was going to ask him soon to do
02:05 that.
02:06 And he was just so looking forward to sharing more about his story and his recovery from
02:10 addiction and really championing that cause to help more people.
02:16 He was emotionally in a good place.
02:21 He looked good.
02:24 He quit smoking.
02:25 That's Friends co-creator Marta Kaufman with more insight on the Today Show, revealing
02:30 she spoke with Matthew two weeks ago.
02:32 Do you know if he was sober at that point?
02:34 Yes, he was sober.
02:36 I'm Chandler.
02:37 I make jokes when I'm uncomfortable.
02:40 As for the iconic sitcom's ensemble, they're in mourning.
02:43 The five stars offered a brief statement Monday, saying in part, "We are all so utterly devastated
02:49 by the loss of Matthew.
02:51 We were more than just castmates.
02:52 We are family."
02:53 You shared a beautiful message about his life and who he was.
02:57 If you could say one more thing to Matthew, what would you tell Maddie?
03:01 I would tell Maddie that I am so proud of him and that he is so brave and that he didn't
03:11 deserve this.
03:12 There are so many people who are such huge fans of him that are devastated by his passing
03:21 and he just went away too soon.
03:24 This is one of those situations that encourages people to reach out to the ones that they
03:29 know, whether that be their friends, their family member, or people that they love, and
03:34 just let them know how much they mean to them.
03:37 Life is so extremely short that we have to make the most of the time that we're given
03:42 and I think he did exactly that.
03:43 [music]