Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry, who gained sitcom superstardom as Chandler Bing on the show “Friends,” becoming a model of the ability to tease your pals as an expression of love, has died. He was 54. “Friends” ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. Perry, like his co-stars, eventually earned $1 million per episode. But behind the scenes of “Friends,” his substance abuse was already an issue. A Jet Ski accident in 1997 helped set in motion Mr. Perry’s addiction to pain killers. Matthew Langford Perry was born on Aug. 19, 1969, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. His parents divorced when he was a baby, and Matty grew up largely with his mother and stepfather, Keith Morrison, in Ottawa. He was one of Canada’s top-ranked junior tennis players. He never married or had children.