Kathleen Turner, who played the comedic role of Matthew Perry’s father on Friends, is opening up about her time being around the late actor. Turner, who probably is best known for her work in Romancing the Stone, remembered Perry watching her appear on a Broadway stage.

“He came to see one of my Broadway shows and he came backstage,” Turner said in an interview with People Magazine. “When he saw me, he yelled out, ‘Hey dad’ and everyone thought it was pretty cool. I think it was for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”

Turner played the father role opposite Matthew Perry’s Chandler Bing on the popular NBC sitcom. She said that the last time that she saw Perry was more than a decade ago. But the way that he treated people around him stuck with her.

“I liked him,” she continued. “He had a good sense of humor and a good heart. He liked other people, which, to me, is terribly important, especially for an actor.”

Turner also had a few words for the rest of the Friends cast. “I need to emphasize that these kids were a tight group. I was more in and out of his life,” she added. “They were a clique, all of them. They were a very tight-knit group.”

No Official Cause of Death Yet For Matthew Perry

There has been no firm cause of death released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office. Initial reports indicated that Perry drowned on Saturday night in his jacuzzi after a couple of hours of pickleball play.

As the news spread out around the United States and the world about Perry’s untimely death, others spoke out. Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler’s girlfriend, Janice, offered up these words about her late co-star.

“What a loss,” Wheeler said in an Instagram post alongside an image of herself and Perry on the Friends set. “The world will miss you Matthew Perry. The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”

Gwyneth Paltrow also headed over to Instagram where she put up a photo of a young Perry along with her post. She recalled the first time meeting Perry was at the 1993 Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts.

“We were both there for most of the summer doing plays,” Paltrow said. “He was so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with.” 

Paltrow added that she and Perry would go swimming in creeks and drink beers at a nearby bar in the area. She also said that she and Perry did kiss at times. “It was a magical summer,” Paltrow wrote. “He had shot the pilot of Friends but it had not aired yet. He was nervous, hoping his big break was just around the corner. It was.”

But the two did not stick together and ultimately drifted apart. “But I was always happy to see him when I did,” Paltrow wrote. “I am super sad today, as many of us are.” Finally, she wished and hoped that Perry was finally at peace.