Matthew Perry Foundation established for late 'Friends' actor to help people fight addiction

Less than a week after Matthew Perry's death, a foundation has been established in his name to help people dealing with addiction.

“In the spirit of Matthew Perry’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction, we embark on a journey to honour his legacy by establishing the Matthew Perry Foundation, guided by his own words and experiences, and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible,” said an inaugural statement establishing the Matthew Perry Foundation on Friday.

The Emmy-nominated Friends star often spoke publicly about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. The foundation, which is now accepting donations, cited his desire to be remembered as someone who helped others with substance abuse even more than his sitcom stardom.

The foundation will be maintained by the National Philanthropic Trust. No further details on the organisation were immediately released.

Perry was declared dead at age 54 after paramedics found him unresponsive at his Los Angeles home on October 28. Authorities are investigating the cause.

Perry was laid to rest on Friday at a Los Angeles cemetery in a service attended by relatives and castmates from the hit 1990s television sitcom Friends, show business media reported, citing photographs.

Mourners gathered at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles, less than a mile from the Warner Brothers studio where the show was filmed. It is also the final resting place of numerous Hollywood A-listers including Michael Jackson, Lucille Ball and Elizabeth Taylor.

The five surviving co-stars of the show paid tribute on Monday to their fallen castmate in a joint message lamenting his death as an "unfathomable loss."

Media including TMZ and the New York Post's Page Six reported Friday's event, posting long-distance and aerial photographs of people in attendance.

All five Friends co-stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer — were there, TMZ said.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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