looking out over tel aviv, it is three and a half weeks since the attack. we are harl nearly constant explosions from gaza, after israeli president benjamin netanyahu told the world that the next phase of the war against hamas has begun, he warned it might be a long road ahead. >> we are also following breaking news back in the united states but first what does this next phase of war mean for the 230 hostages held by hamas? that number of hostages updated recently as families wait and pray for their loved ones brutally kidnapped on october 7th. negotiators in qatar are working around the clock even though the israeli response expands.

>> an advisory to the qatari negotiator. take a listen. >> it becomes more difficult but it's still ongoing and we can't give up. i can tell you that clearly we can't give up on this on all sides. nobody in the region can afford to give up and just leave it to the military people to decide what happens in the future. >> let's go to cnn's nick robinson, israeli president benjamin netanyahu says the next phase of the war has begun and its goal is to destroy hamas. how is this second phase going to affect the hostages being held in gaza? >> well, the prime minister said two primary goals of these operations, one destroy hamas. but the second to get the hostages back. and the defense minister said look, we believe that these

increased military operations this operation in gaza will actually benefit us and help get the hostages back. and i think when you hear from the -- from somebody close to the negotiations there, that qatari official you do understand that there are still conversations being had and part of reason that those conversations are being had is both sides still put a value on the hostages and getting them out of this situation. even though the trust is breaking down. we've heard from hamas's military wing saying look we can exchange all these very many hostages that we have for all the palestinian prisoners in israeli jails. there is a trade that hamas wants to make. how you get those hostages out of the tunnels where they're being hidden and safely out of gaza and how you negotiate that when there is this real paucity of trust and an intense fight underway, how you actually do that is very difficult.

but clearly, there is a will. so there is the potential for progress. the idea that both sides see value in getting their own people back, that's a starting position, right? and i think that's where we're still at jake. >> nick robertson thank you so much, appreciate it. it is hard to imagine right now the suffering that so many palestinians who had nothing to do with the hamas terrorist attack on october 7th, how many of them, the suffering that they're forced to deal with right now, many of them are without water or without food or without medicine without electricity, literally living in darkness. the only light that is creeping through the darkness are the flashes from the israeli air strikes. cnn's jamonica is in beirut lebanon for us. and these air strikes are only

making the humanitarian situation which is already horrific even worse. >> reporter: it is a devastating humanitarian situation inside gaza, jake. and it is happening as you mention, almost in the dark. that communications near total blackout, making it very hard for us and for others to try and reach people inside gaza to find out what is happening right now. but throughout the past twrowr hours -- 24 hours the little information and video that has been trickling out really paints a grim picture of the situation there on the ground. as you mentioned earlier people under siege, no food no water no power no fuel, hospitals on verge of collapse and then no communications, almost cut out from the outside world, they can't call their loved ones to find out within gaza if they are still alive at that night of intense bombardment and what is still ongoing right now. and even before this recent

intensification jake, the situation has been catastrophic. and we have to warn viewers that our report that they're about to see is graphic and they may find it disturbing. it is hard to believe this was gaza just a few weeks ago. little noor dressed in his finest dancing with his brother at a wedding. his mother we saw still canned believe her boy is gone. >> he was holding my hand as i took him to make him a sandwich he says, he didn't get to eat it. shrapnel cut through his neck. he is now in heaven. god give me the strength to deal with this. the air strikes that took six-year-old noor and other relatives left her with injuries all over her body and the unbearable pain so many palestinian mothers are having to endure. there's a void in my heart. i can't even cry, she says.

i really want to cry. but the tears are not coming out. why can't i get it out? i want to cry for my little boy. recovering at hospital, she just wants to get back to her three other children now homeless sheltering at a school. hell is raining down on gaza. israel is saying it's going after hamas and doing what it can to spare the innocent but it is the innocent who are paying the heaviest price. and a few hospitals still barely standing, those pictures are too graphic for us to show. but faces show of the horrors they survive and this living nightmare they can't escape. three-year-old judy hasn't uttered a world in 16 days. still in shork with a piece of shrapnel lodged in her hand.

[speaking in a global language] >> what did these children do? we have nothing to do with the resistance he says. they are targeting palestinians, they are killing children because they are palestine ioanaian. to them we are not human. they don't know if she will be able to walk again. judy is one of the lucky ones, if one can call them that. she still has her father by her side. baby irwa keeps asking for her mom. she's too young to understand. she has lost her mother, brother and sister too. she shows the camera her ouchie and in every corner of every hospital, so many sorry stories to comprehend. air strike killed their mother father brother and members of their extended family.

kinan doesn't say much these days. he asks me if we have internet here. he says i want to caught mommy and daddy, doctors in these whoarmd hospitals gives a string of injured, they don't have enough to treat, with the little they have they do what they can but how do you begin to deal with so many going through so much? >> this is cnn breaking news. >> and we are back with some breaking news just into cnn very sad news. actor matthew perry has died at the age of 54. the los angeles times quoting law enforcement forces is reporting the friends star was found dead in a hot tub today in his los angeles home. the l.a. times said sources spoke on the condition of

anonymity. there was no signs of foul play. perry is best known for his role of chandler, and friends. perry appeared in every episode of friends, his battle with alcohol and drugs, specifically painkillers was well-known. his autobiography. he went to rehab more than 60 times. kamala what more do we know about matthew perry's death? >> pam very few details here but as you mentioned the l.a. times says this was an parent drowning accident at his l.a. home, hatched today. we have reached out to matthew perry's team we also reached out to the l.a.p.d, they have not gotten back to us. but the l.a. times saying there

is no apparent foul play in this incident. unfortunately we are waiting to get that confirmation from l.a.p.d. and from matthew perry's team there. unfortunately this is obviously extremely heartbreaking for the hollywood community and really for the world, that watched friends. this was such a great show. matthew perry was you obviously chandler bang, he made so many of us laugh for so many seasons, so be episodes, just watching the reunion episode, it was nice to see the whole team, to see the gang there. unfortunately, this is the news that we're getting today. we'll have to wait for that confirmation. and as you mentioned, matthew perry was very opened or open about his struggles with addiction. and so as of now, the l.a. times is also saying no foul play suspected but again we have to wait for a lot of those details,

pam. >> we do and so many of us know him from friends and then he really reemerged in a big way when his autobiography would say, went to rehab many times and that he was finally able to break the cycle of addiction. tell us more about what we know about matthewy from his memoir, those interviews he did as we learn of his untimely death at the age of 54 according to the l.a. times, being found in a hot tub dead. again learning more circumstances surrounding his death waiting for police to provide more details. but tell us a little bit more about his background if you would kamala. >> yes -- camila. >> you mentioned the interview, he did a lot of interviews as he

was promoting his book and he was willing to speak about everything that happened to him. he would get extremely emotional as he talked about his struggles and going in and out of rehab and as you mentioned. what he went through even as he was filming friends because this was of course sort of the biggest show of his career but he spoke about going through those struggles even through the taping of friends and going through these episodes and still showing up, right? and still making us laugh. and still just making everybody happy. and it was just such a good show, right? and he brought such a fun aspect to the show with his jokes, with his personality. so it was interesting to see both sides, right? the person that he played on friends but also the person that was struggling with this addiction behind closed doors. and so i think anybody that was around in the 90s or that grew up in the 90s watched chandler

bang and was excited to see him sort of overcome that addiction. again we have to wait to confirm the foul play. that's what the l.a. times is saying that right now that is not the case. so we'll just have to wait on those details from law enforcement. but it is a long career and of course, one that's very well-known for his role in friends. >> yes, you know, the friends was his biggest claim to payment but he starred and guest starred in countless other shows, boys will be boys, charles in charge, the west wing scrubs, stewed yes 66, the odd couple and many mors. he recently resurfaced in the friends reunion that i know a lot of friends fans were eagerly awaiting and watching. >> yes and on social media there was a lot of talk about the reunion and how he looked and the way that he spoke during the

reunion. there were a lot of questions about what he was going through. but he came out and said look i'm okay i'm in a good place. so it is unclear exactly how he was at the moment or just recently. you know last we heard, he did speak out saying that he was fine. but we have to wait to probably hear from his team to really figure out what he was going through, if he was going through anything at the moment, or as the l.a. times was saying this appears to have been an accident. >> yes no foul play according to the l.a. times and again he spoke just last year i believe it was about the fact that he had struggled with addiction that he had broken that cycle of addiction through a lot of hard work over many years. and, you know, when you look at his character in friends, chandler, it was such a fan favorite, right? i mean, you know, and maybe for the younger generation who didn't watch friends, people

loved that show but they also loved his character. he made such an impression on people. i think that was also why when he came out with his memoir, it was a struggle for people when he had these issues. he was so beloved. >> yes, we fell in love with chandler right and he made us fall in love with chandler and monica. it was fun to watch him be around the group because he brought so much joy as chandler, right and he always had a good line or something in the way that he spoke or his gestures that made us laugh. and so really, throughout the 90s we all fell in love with chandler bing and he made us want to watch friends. it was all of them together but matthew perry of course a key part in all of those friends episodes. >> certainly. camilla, stay with us, we will

continue to shed some light. i want to bring in senior features editor emily riley, i want to hear from you, the deaths of matthew perry at the age of 54. >> yeah, this is absolutely heartbreaking. it's something you never want to read the news about. you never want to report on the news but of course that is the hard part of our job. it i think it's really important to know as you guys were saying he was so much more than just chandler that we all fell in love with this character. so open to showing his struggles through year and able to help other people around him. when his book came out, so many of his friends co-stars, his co-stars from west wing, and sunset strip and the amount of kindness and the way he cared about other people and how great a comedian he was. i think it's so important that people realize that what chandler was in the tremendous

writing staff on friends but also that he brought that cadence. those famous lines that were delivered in the way he did was something that he actually came up with. he came up with the way that chandler was delivering those and i think it's really, really meaningful to talk about that and how great he was, that he wasn't just an actor that was reading lines on a page. >> i'm wondering emily if you're hearing anything about your sources about the death of matthew perry as we wait to learn more about the circumstances. >> right now we are still hearing the same thing you are from l.a.p.d. that has spoken to l.a. times, we have not been able to speak to them yet to confirm any of the details. right now it is unknown exactly what happened and if any foul play was involved, of course we hope that was not the case, that everything was okay with him and that he, you know, i think that it's a really, really sad thing any time someone goes so early and so young and such great talent. so i think we're standing by to hope for more details soon.

>> let's talk a little bit more about perry's acting legacy, we got to first know him on friends which is very popular on streaming but his reach went beyond that show right? certainly the most popular, the most well-known but he had a wide reach. >> uh-huh, yeah. that's a really, really good way to put it. i mean we think about him showing up on cougar town or west wing or scrubs. he had so many of these appearances on shows that he really never stopped working. we see a lot of these 90s early 2000 stars that kind of take a break from the spotlight and despite everything he was going through he loved the work and loved to be the industry and being part of it and really staying on the know, friends to his co-stars despite of everything he was doing. i always think of a movie that he did with zack ephron, he was really charming and able to lean

into that charm and the way the fans connected with him and he wanted to connect with them on a deeper level. that was really, really important now. >> perry's open and transparency with his addiction, shocking to many that he had these struggles that he was addicted to alcohol and to drugs. something he opened up to in his memoir last year. what do we know about that addiction and his ability to overcome that addiction, he was ytalking about the fact that he was able to overcome it. >> yes absolutely. it was so impressive to hear because he was saying at one point he was taking 55 vicodins a day. not knowing him in real life, he said that really while he was on friends his cast really stepped in and said we need to help you get help and we support you no matter what and we will stand by

you. and that's something that is so rare to have. and clearly he credits the show to saving his life multiple times. and even the most powerful season, some might say, is when monica and chandler got married and he explained that even filming that episode he was in rehab that morning, and went back to film the episode. thinking how many he was going through. >> really initiathat he put so much work into overcoming the addiction, in the effort to help others who may suffer the same kind of addiction. what kind of tributes are we seeing online to the sat news about perry? >> the most i'm seeing now is straight shock across the industry. we haven't seen any of the stars speak out from friends or any of his co-stars yet. the people i have reached out to, say stand by.

people are really processing it right now. the mood i'm getting across social media is complete shock and really heartbreak that someone could ogo at this young of age. >> again, he made the from your understanding emily has he been laying low? >> you know i think book press was the last time we really saw him but he has been active on social media. he posted on social media just last week, in what seemingly just kind of hanging out at his house, possibly in a j jacuzzi, not sure where that was now. he was sharing happy memories, a rare photo of him and his father, which he rarely shared any insight into his family life. it seemed at least to the outside world that he was in a good place but since last november when he was on this book tour we haven't seen too

much of him. >> emily, while you've been talking camilla has been looking online, the tributes to him. those close to him are absorbing this news, camilla what are you learning tonight? >> the reaction from fans has been shock. no one was expecting this, he was 54 years old so a lot of the fans not just matthew perry fans but friends fans, is absolute shock. nothing they expected. i wanted to go back a little bit to sort of the beginning. growing up he loved tennis. his mother was a journalist. his father was an actor. he moved to canada with his mother when he was young and as a teenager came to los angeles. and that sort of when he started that acting career. so kind of started slowly. and then got bigger roles as he, you know, grew up got better was here in hollywood and of course

that led to friends which is of course the big thing that we're talking about, just the sarcastic character, that fun character that he was as chandler bing. but again it was shock, a lot of people not expecting this and sadness right? because we expected him to last a long time. and so just to see the end at 54 is of course sad for his fans, who of course are reacting on social media. we're waiting to hear from the people that surrounded him. the rest of the actors in friends, of course and we are waiting to hear from his representatives to get that confirmation from them. we still have not been able to get that confirmation from los angeles police department. but we are waiting for them. and as of now, there is a source that spoke to the l.a. times that confirmed this apparent accident at the bathtub in his

home in los angeles. >> we're hoping that authorities will provide some more information. of course the next step after something like this would be an autopsy to really determine the cause of death. but certainly, we're all eager to learn more because this is such a shock. he was only 54 years old. emily last time we saw him, you know, when he was doing his interviews after his memoir was released he seemed to be doing pretty well. after all that he had been through and all the struggles he had had, right? >> right and i think a lot of people were cheering for him especially so many of us had theard about his struggles and he was so public about these struggles, everyone wanted him to do well. they were cheering matthew perry but also chand plerp the curch wanted him to be well, you were talking earlier that it was a lot of the cast members who also wanted to help him while he was

struggling at the time that he was filming friends. and so, you know, after he shared these struggles everybody was sort of cheering him on as well, not just the people that were closest to him. >> right and emily i want to go to you on that too because he really did have close friends, you know, from the show and beyond that rallied around him when he opened up about all of his struggles. even some of them didn't know the extent of it, right? >> yeah, 100%. i think a lot of people were really, really shocked by the revelations revealed in the book and how, really how much he was struggling. because like we've said throughout they kept working. he put on that smile that we all fell in love with on tv. he did interviews, he did red carmts, he never shied away from stepping into the spotlight and giving viewers and fans what they wanted. one instance he explained in the

book was jennifer aniston pulling him aside and saying we know what is going on we need to get you help. i think that's powerful, one of his friends in real life, and all these people who knew him and loved him, said you know what let's rally together and get you the help you need. >> and if you would emily encapsulate the imprint, browsing through social media, people felt this strong connection to matthew perry. why is that? >> it is hard to put into words. i would say that it is really the charm that he has. there's very few actors who could step into a role and become that character so much that it becomes a way of almost feeling you're at home. this feeling of comfort when he is on screen and he does that exact thing and it is not just canned parts. it is also -- oops sorry, igd. >> go ahead i'm listening emily.

>> sorry. i think it's really, really that feeling of home and comfort that he brings to really everyone that's watching no matter if it was friends, no matter if it was 17 again or one of his many, many movies that he did, fools rush in, i mean this way he had with viewers, especially, that he could just say anything and make people laugh and make people feel, is something really, really powerful and rare that an actor could make you laugh and cry within the same sentence and that's something that matthew perry could really do. >> that's right, he did that rare ability that he did have, also you are seeing the strong reaction to people online to the sad news the death of matthew perry at the age of 55. we are learning from law enforcement sources that he was found dead today in a bathtub or jacuzzi, right now the sources are telling the l.a. times there

was no foul play. i want to bring in billy bush, host and managing editor of accredit. first off billy your reaction to the death of matthew perry. >> yes i knew math tho pretty well, certainly over 20 years we've spent a bunch of time opposite each other on camera. but you know, i wanted to -- instantly i thought oh no how horrible. and then i started thinking about a difficult life he led. he struggled so much off camera. for a guy who was so effortless on camera, his timing and his good nature always just upbeat and quick. and then you realize it's the exact opposite when he's not. i mean he just struggled, struggled, struggled, so hard with painkillers and addiction. and i think, you know, we're hearing there is no foul play. but immediately, you think, what

wear and tear that poor heart of his took, you you know over these years. so while i'm crutched and sad and i just sent a text over to lisa kudro with whom i'm friends, we would send her my condolences, the cast is really tight, there is a part of me that's like ah, i'm not overly surprised. because i thought something was off with him. and that he had hurt for too long. >> when you say you thought something was off with him, what do you mean? and when -- >> well, a couple of years ago in the friends reunion when he was slurring some words and appeared to not be himself. i think he had just gotten some veneers done so that was part of it. but i think everybody, we all felt that something might be, you know, not quite right with matthew. and i was hoping to god it wasn't a relapse. i don't think there is evidence of that but definitely, he was,

you know, struggling alongside the rest of them in that special. >> and how -- do you know how he has been doing recently, i know he did a round of interviews after the book was released. >> i think he was doing just fine. i mean i think he was doing, you know, as one report is that he played two hours of pickleball this morning, he's a great racquets guy. matthew is a great player, the pickleball played two hours this morning, came back and according to the report his assistant went out to get something and then that's when he was just chilling. and apparently, you know, had some kind of cardiac arrest is the thing. it would be a nice thing if, you know, if it wasn't a relapse of some kind that he had triumphed over this terrible each that he had him so long, you know.

if at the end he somehow even if his heart gave out if he triumphed against that. that is just great, that is a tough fight. >> it will be a while until we know the circumstances and the cause of death and what went on but as you pointed out his body went through a lot, he talked about you taking up to 50 pills a day. he was addicted to alcohol. his weight fluctuated to very low to high, and, you know, it all kind of made sense once he came out and his memoir was released and it was all connected. >> all connected to the process yeah. >> so much more than that we are focusing on that because that was obviously a big surprise to many of us but matthew perry did so much with his life and those 54 years right? he was on friends such a popular show but he did much more than that as well. >> i thought some of the movies he did, i thought 17 again was a

greatly movie. i remember that going with my kids and loving it and the whole nine yards, him and bruce willis became great friends. he did some great memories whicr something as iconic as friends to go on and have great success in film too was grade. i thought the odd couple was pretty good too. i just like him. he's just that guy we liked and he's all generations know him. you know what i mean? like my kids have seen every episode of friends. they thanks to its availability still, it just stands the test of time. so everybody feels a connection to matthew perry and every, you know, got a text from my ex wife she's like oh chandler bing, they all had a crush on chandler bing. when i get on monday night for extra i'm going to celebrate the

heck out of this guy and give him his propers because he was truly great. >> he deserves it. he is leaving behind an incredible legacy, you know, with his work but also personally. you knew him personally over the years. what was he like in those kind of interpersonal, you know, relationships? >> a little shy. he'd come into the room a little shy, you know it's like he wasn't hey you know cracking the quick jokes like he does on camera. you know, a little shy. little to himself but certainly warm as can be and affable. just the nicest guy, he and i would talk about tennis and so we would text back and forth about getting out on the tennis court. we are very close once but i'm also an avid tennis player and pickleball and so there's a community of folks in town who sort of play. like, you know, dr. phil has a court and a lot of people go up and play.

i know matthew did a couple of times and i used to go. he's just a really affable nice person. when you're a fan of somebody and you say boy when i meet that person boy if they're a let down it's like, it takes the air out of you but matthew perry was just exactly what you wanted him to be. you know what i mean? >> yes. >> what you would imagine him to be, he was. >> it's interesting to say he was a little shy. obviously that is not how he was with his character chandler but they're not the character they play on tv, he was chandler but he was his own person and -- go ahead. >> you know who i just talked do? i just talked to keith morrison, from date lyon, his incredible voice. keith morrison was matthew perry's stepfather and i was just talking to him yesterday we were doing an interview about

something, i just talked to him, that's another person i need to reach out to. but he was one of his great calling cards is that he is matthew perry's stepfather. thinks he's as funny as i do. >> we'd love to have him on, he is obviously trying to process this news but we want to talk to him, those who knew him and loved him. he was beloved by so many people, family, close friends, we saw him on the show with, he was known as this funny man on any set he graced, and when he was live with piers morgan live on cnn. let's take a look at this. >> this is going to be fun, new experience for me, exciting, kind of reminds me of when i won my first emmy. right, i haven't won a damn

thing. maybe today is the day. may i guest host the show so well, not a chance. who is talking into my ear? >> clearly a great sense of humor. really. >> (laughing). >> so funny. he. >> he clearly had a great sense of humor. also knew how to turn it on for the camera, right? knew how to did that. why did you think he made such a big impact on people and why his character on friends was so popular, why it was a fan favorite? >> because he's the every guy. he's the guy you know guys want to be his buddy, you know, we all think we have a buddy like chandler bing, life of the party, guys want to hang out with him, girls want to date him. he's cute, funny, if you ask a woman what she is trcted to first, she will say most often

sense of humor and then you have to be handsome. he is great looking with a tremendous sense of humor. i just think, you know, he crossed all boundaries, he included everybody. everybody wanted a piece of him and we got a great piece of him. he really gave. >> yes, we did. 54 years seems so young to die but at the same time he gave so much in his life and we did get a big piece of him. billy bush stand by, los angeles times reporting tonight, the death of matthew perry the popular actor from the 90s sit com frfriends. much morore ever our covererage ahead.d. -- of our r coverage a ahead..

>> and we are back with breaking news just into cnn, actor matthew perry has died at the age of 54. los angeles times is quoting sources the friends star was found dead in his hot tub at his los angeles home. sources who spoke on anonymity, perry appeared on countless other shows but best known on the sit com friends. perry's battle with alcohol and drugs, specifically painkillers was well-known. perry wrote in his memoir, friends lover and the big terrible thing. that he went to rehab up to 60 times. pam. >> what we know now is this is

an apparent drowning accident at his l.a. home that is according to sources speaking to the l.a. times, we have reached out to the l.a.p.d. and also to representatives of matthew perry and have not heard back. as you mentioned this is a long and successful career. but he did share a lot of his struggles. and i wanted to point out, in his book and when he was doing his press tour, he said that he spoke about his struggles because he was pretty certain that he would be able to help people. and at the time he said this, i'm not surprised with my resilience. he said that the way that i can bounce back from all of this torture and awfulness he says wanting to tell the story even if it's a little scary to tell your secrets in a book i just didn't want to leave anything out. so he was open. he was able to share a lot of what he was going through at the friends reunion a couple of years ago he said he struggled with anxiety and just wanted everyone in that audience to laugh at his jokes even if it

was a one-liner, he was always wanting people to react positively and obviously people did because they loved him as he played chandler on friends. it's a memorable character. something we will always remember him by, pam. >> we certainly will camilla. stay with us as we continue to cover this, billy bush a managing editor of extra, matthew perry almost died of his addiction at the age of 49 years old and he was able to overcome that and he released his memoir. he talked about how when he was in the hospital recovering and after the fact he was writing on his notes app on his iphone about his struggles. he showed it to his agent and it turned into the memoir that we all know now. >> he talked about as far as how deep the addiction was, when it

was. and when it was going he would go to open houses, you remember that, go to open houses to just check the medicine cabinets. >> yes, yes. >> that's how severe it was. and, you know, spent a lot of time trying to do that. i just talked checked in to his instagrament, six days ago he was in the hot tub beats headphones on linning to music. it is a solemn photo of him sitting in the corner of this tub by himself and the post right after it or right before it is of the moon and the clouds, covering the moon. and he says, i'm matman instead of batman. so he's just obviously, boy imagine though his last post is in the tub and that's where he passed. how terribly terribly sad.

>> it's ominous now looking at it now in the wake of learning that he died in that hot tub according to the l.a. times and the l.a. times saying no foul play but certainly questions are swirling tonight about the circumstances. you know. >> i'm trying to -- i'm trying to remember it, trying to as we all try so sort of make sense of this and put it together. i sort of remember in his book that he had this fear, that that would be the way he would go. about drowning. and so i'm, you know, it's not a dent but i really seem to remember that. so i'm going to go look it up. see if i can't find that. but i mean you see the pictures of all the cast together. so close. >> so sad, clear for our viewers we're still learning about the circumstances surrounding his death. we don't know if he drowned but we do know according to the l.a. times that he was found dead in

his j acuzzi. but you said you knew him personally, interviewed him over the years, opposites right, you were interviewing him and you said he seemed to be doing pretty well in the last couple of years or so. >> well i mean yeah, the reunion a couple of years ago was confusing event. because we were all, you know, we were pretty sure that he was doing well. and then he had just, whether he had had some type of medication for the recent oral surgery or something. something appeared to be off. so i recall along with most people that there was a pause for concern. but certainly, after that, and promoting the book, that perception changed. he did a great interview with diane sawyer, he was funny and you know he sparred with her very adeptly and he seemed sharp and by all accounts, you know,

out on the pickleball scene here in los angeles which everybody's playing now and so active there. working out a lot. yeah, he seemed to be fine. i think what i keep thinking about is, the wear and tear that his heart took over the years. if in fact the report of cardiac arrest comes out to be a fact, which it would not surprise me if that's the case. but that, you know, he was in the hospital. he had had gastroiintest tiinal peperforations, it's amazing he lived through that addiction. >> his colon burst from opioid

over use and yet he was able to forge ahead with his life. and right that memoir. and tell his story. and do interviews. and like you said, live his life, like going to play fiblg ball and tennis and posting on instagram and what he's been up to lately. it's so shocking to many he is down dead. >> he was off instagram for a while and then he came back six days ago and double posted the moon and from his corner of the hot tub. what a premonition if it appeared to be the case. >> how would you describe his legacy billy? you said when you are on air morn you are going to give him a heck of a celebration of life. what does that celebration look like? >> i think people have -- you have an option, you have a choice, you have a choice to take the legacy of math theufert

you want to take. if you are someone who has struggled with addiction you are going to say he was an incredible role model and an icon to you. you know no matter how bad anyone's got, his was really really really bad and i hope and it seems that in the end he conquered it. so in that regard as a person and we all know someone who's struggled with addiction, in our family and or a close friend, he's a hero there. and as for acting, i mean, the role of a lifetime met the right guy. right? opportunity thrived and he was prepared and he got that role. and he absolutely crushed that role. everything he says is funny and right on. there we are standing there together. it's just right on point. and, you know, he owned it. he just -- we all hope that when

the great opportunity comes in your career that you nail it. and he just nailed it. >> yep. >> so big bravo from me. >> i always hear going to be prepared when the opportunity comes and man, was he prepared to take that opportunity by the horns and become beloved. >> and you think about with all the things he was dealing with at that time, you looked at him right there and wondering, was he on something at this point, you know, how did he remember all that dialogue and hit it with such amazing natural timing? it's like he really was a -- >> i kno w billy, stand by. we're going to continue this conversation as we cover the

breaking news, los angeles times reporting that matthew perry as died. the popular actor from the '90s sit come "friends" was 54 years old. we have much more of our coverage ahead.

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oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible. editor for variety emily longeretta. thank you for joining us. first of all what are you hearing about the death of

matthew perry? >> right now we know what "the la times" is rorgt, matthew perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his home. there's no foul play and this is an on going investigation. no one is speaking on the record at this time. we reached out to his team, and i know you have. they are yet to release a statement. there's a lot of heart break around the industry. i'm sure where you guys are as well with his friends and family as well. a lot of friends speaking out on social media as well. selma blair. a lot of people released the statements how heartbroken they are and how sad they are but also just about what a light he was and what a powerful and positive man he was despite the hardships he was going through. >> yeah. no, absolutely. it's interesting as we're doing our own research, going back, looking at his memoir, reading bits and pieces, my producer reminded me that he actually almost didn't get the job on "friends," that he was booked on another show called "l.a.x." and

then that series was dropped. so then he was able to audition for the role of chandler and nailed it. what made him such a perfect fit for that role? and why was his character on "friends" just so beloved? >> man, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing chandler. and it clearly would not have been chandler, it would not have been "friends" without matthew perry. we're very happy the other show did not work out and he was able to be the chandler that we all fell and love with. it was a lot like billy bush was saying earlier, he had that charm, that smile, that power that was just so likable. it is very rare that someone is able to read their lines and deliver their lines in a way that everyone laughs, everyone loves. i haven't ever met somebody who doesn't like the character of chandler. and the way that he related to people and the way he related to every other character on the show. like you said hevgs on every single episode of the show. he had a part in every big

moment. and despite these struggles that he was having behind the scenes that we saw a little bit at the reunion, him talking about that anxiety and that worry that he had, every time he stepped in front of the camera about, you know, getting a laugh. every time the audience didn't laugh, he got worried and got nervous. i think that he -- that never was shown to the audience. and little did he know that everyone always laughed at him every single time he was there. so, and we were laughing with him in the best way. >> we sure were. and so many of us had no idea that he was struggling with these addictions behind the scene. he went on years later, last year, releasing his memoir, talking about it. and he said on his sobriety, he said i'm not run by the fear i used to be run by. so everything is kind of different. i'm feeling more confident and i'm not afraid of love anymore. so the next girl i go out with better watch out. that's what he told "people" magazine just last year. today, we are learning now about the death of matthew perry at the age of 54. we'll be right back.