Keith Morrison has opened up about his late stepson Matthew Perry in a new interview with Hoda Kotb, where he revealed the Friends star was in a “happy” place for his tragic death.
Appearing on the latest episode of Kotb’s Making Space podcast, the Dateline correspondent, who married Perry’s mother, Suzanne, in 1981, revealed the grief surrounding his stepson’s death “doesn’t go away.”
“It’s with you every day. It’s with you all the time, and there’s some new aspect of it that assaults your brain,” Morrison said, per People. “It’s not easy, especially for his mom.”
Perry passed away on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54; responders found him in a jacuzzi at a home in Los Angeles after responding to a call of cardiac arrest. The cause of death was later attributed to the “acute effects of ketamine,” as indicated by the toxicology report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, in addition to drowning, coronary artery disease, and the impacts of buprenorphine.
Speaking on Perry’s relationship with his mom, Morrison said, “Toward the end of his life, they were closer than I’ve seen them for decades.”
He also revealed that the Emmy-nominated actor was “happy” before his death. “He was happy, and he said so,” Morrison shared. “And he hadn’t said that for a long time. So it’s a source of comfort, but also, he didn’t get to have his third act, and that’s not fair.”
When asked if the news of Perry’s death surprised him, Morrison said, “It was the news you never want to get, but you think someday you might. Yes and no, I guess, is the answer to that.”
Touching on Perry’s battles with alcohol and drug addiction, Morrison revealed, “He felt like he was beating it. But you never beat it, and he knew that, too.”
As for their own relationship, Morrison said that he and Perry had very different personalities. “But we got along fine,” he added. “I never tried to replace his dad [John Bennett Perry]… but I was there for him, and he knew it, and we were close.”
Morrison went on to talk about Perry’s impact as an actor, particularly for his beloved role as Chandler Bing on Friends. “He was a larger-than-life person,” the long-time broadcast journalist said, noting how Perry was always “the center of attention” everywhere he went due to his “goofy” and “funny” personality.
“That’s gone, but you still feel the echo of it everywhere,” he added.