The Oscars paid emotional tribute to Matthew Perry during last night’s ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Perry was featured during the In Memoriam section alongside several other actors and filmmakers who passed away in the past 12 months, including William Friedkin, Harry Belafonte, Michael Gambon, Ryan O’Neal, Carl Weathers and Tina Turner.
The segment opened with a clip of late political activist Alexei Navalny, who was profiled in last year’s Best Documentary Feature winner Navalny.
A clip of Gambon as Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 then played before Andrea and Matteo Bocelli sang a moving rendition of Time to Say Goodbye.
Also recognised at the ceremony were The Full Monty star Tom Wilkinson, Broadway legend Chita Rivera and A Room with a View’s Julian Sands, with sitcom icon Perry also being honoured.
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Although Perry was best known for his iconic TV role as Chandler Bing in the beloved sitcom Friends, he also appeared in several films during his career – including The Whole Nine Yards and 17 Again.
At the recent BAFTA Film Awards, many movie fans questioned why Perry’s name had been missing from the ceremony’s In Memoriam tribute, although this omission was later cleared up by BAFTA.
Responding to a question about the matter on X (formerly Twitter), the organisation’s account wrote that “Matthew Perry will be remembered in this year’s TV Awards ceremony”.
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Perry passed away last October at the age of 54, and the tragic news was greeted by an outpouring of tributes from fans and the world of entertainment.
Friends co-stars David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston said they were “utterly devastated” by the news. “We were more than just castmates. We are a family,” they said in a statement.
Perry’s life was also honoured at this year’s Emmy Awards, though his Friends co-stars were absent for the emotional tribute.
“I can’t speak for them, but we all have to respect that they were their own family. It was probably just a little too soon,” Emmys executive producer Jeannae Rouzan-Clay said.
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