Lauren Graham honors friend Matthew Perry: ‘No one made me laugh as hard’

Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham joins the outpouring of love for Matthew Perry after the Friends star and best-selling author tragically passed away at the age of 54 on Oct. 28, 2023. Since his passing, his Friends family, fans, and other famous friends have been celebrating the Emmy-nominated actor’s life with bittersweet tributes.

On Nov. 16, Lauren Graham stopped by CBS Mornings to promote the paperback release of her book of essays Have I Told You This Already? and her book tour. The show’s hosts Gayle King and Vladimir Duthiers respectfully touched on Perry’s passing and asked Graham her best memory of her friend. Just like all of his other friends mourning him, Graham spoke on his sense of humor.

"“No one made laugh as hard. I mean, just tears streaming. There was just such joy in being around him and being his friend, and I’ll say too that this last year, you know, he was so proud of the book he wrote and of how many people it touched. And it was a success that gave him a level of happiness that I hadn’t seen in him for a really long time, so that’s a nice memory.”"

Graham continued to honor her friend, telling King and Duthiers that she’s still “in shock” over Perry’s death but noting that he leaves his “beautiful work behind, and that’s something to be thankful for.” Again, she highlighted how proud Perry was of his book Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing and how happy the past year had been for him after telling his story to the world.

The Gilmore Girls and Parenthood star joins Perry’s Friends co-stars, who first put out a joint statement about the loss have now been offering personal stories and tributes for their friend. They have each shared individual posts for Perry on their social media accounts. Courteney Cox posted a blooper from Monica and Chandler’s first scene as a couple, while Matt LeBlanc offered a touching and deeply emotional farewell to his “brother.”

Watch Lauren Graham speak about Matthew Perry in the video below.

Graham and Perry first worked together in 2008 while filming Birds of America, but met long before. The pair would continue to work together over the years, with Graham appearing in episodes of his shows Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Go On, and The Odd Couple. They both appeared in the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City in 1995, with Graham playing Shelly in five episodes and Perry making a cameo as his Friends character Chandler Bing.

In his book, Perry captioned a photo of the two of them with “Me and the beautiful Lauren Graham.” Over the years, people had wondered whether they were ever anything more than friends. Graham denied the rumors during a 2008 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again in her 2016 book Talking As Fast As I Can, calling him a “longtime Friend Who I Almost But Never Exactly Dated, or FWIABNED.” Perry once called Graham “one of [his] favorite people,” and it’s clear that the feeling was mutual.