Jim Burrows, the maestro behind the camera who orchestrated more Friends episodes than there are pizza slices in Central Perk, recently spilled the beans in an interview. He gave us a sneak peek into the rollercoaster of emotions that engulfed the iconic cast upon hearing the devastating news of Matthew Perry’s untimely departure from this sitcom-loving world.
For those who’ve been living under a rock (or perhaps in a storage unit like Chandler Bing), the 54-year-old actor shockingly left us on a fateful Saturday (October 28), not in a blaze of glory, but in a bizarre twist of fate involving water.
So, here we are, on the Today show, where Jim was probed about the emotional rollercoaster the cast is currently riding. He might as well have been asked to predict whether Ross and Rachel would be on a break for the umpteenth time.
“I texted the girls, you know, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow, the very day we got the gut-wrenching news. They were utterly obliterated. It’s like losing a family member, only it’s not a sibling, it’s a sitcom brother,” Jim responded, and the world collectively held back the tears, remembering the countless times they laughed and cried alongside the gang from Central Perk.
‘Friends’ director James Burrows remembers Matthew Perry in an exclusive interview with @LizKreutzNews.
“I texted the girls the day we found out and they were destroyed. It’s a brother dying,” he said. pic.twitter.com/Bo82qMdPsF
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 2, 2023