Keith Morrison, Matthew Perry’s stepfather, shared heartfelt insights into their familial bond Wednesday in a conversation with Hoda Kotb on the “Making Space” podcast.
Months following the passing of beloved “Friends” star Perry at 54, Morrison broke his silence and detailed his relationship with the late actor. The “Dateline” correspondent who became part of Perry’s family after marrying Suzanne Perry in 1981, revealed the depth of their relationship and the impact of the loss. The actor’s death on Oct. 28, 2023, was attributed to the acute effects of ketamine, as detailed in a December autopsy report.
“As other people have told me hundreds of times. It doesn’t go away yet,” Morrison said in the podcast. “It’s with you every day. It’s with you all the time.”
Keith Morrison, the veteran ‘Dateline’ correspondent and stepfather of the late actor Matthew Perry, says in a new interview that the ‘Friends’ star felt he was overcoming his yearslong struggles with addiction before his death in October. https://t.co/Mu4eL3Cwqm
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 13, 2024
Morrison spoke about the strengthened bond between Perry and his mother in the actor’s final days. “There’s some new aspect of it that assaults your brain, and, you know, it’s not easy, especially for his mom,” Morrison told Kotb. “I don’t think I’m giving away too much by saying that toward the end of his life, they were closer than I had seen them for decades, and texting each other constantly and him sharing things with her that most middle-aged men don’t share with their mothers.” (RELATED: Castmate From ‘Friends’ Speaks Out On Matthew Perry’s Death As Other Co-Stars Remain Silent)
Morrison said the deceased actor was happier before he died suddenly. “He said so, and he hadn’t said that for a long time,” he recalled. “It’s a source of comfort, but also, he didn’t get to have his third act, and that’s not fair. And as he said himself, ‘If I suddenly died, people would be shocked, but not too many people would be surprised.’ And he was right.”