as we continue to share reaction to the death of matthew perry, we're getting more from melissa rivers in an exclusive statement to cnn. rivers says, i lost a dear friend from high school today, we were in high school plays together and even then he was the most talented guy in the room. of my very few happy memories from high school matthew was always a part of them. so sad. he will be missed, rest in peace. >> i want to bring in senior tv features editor for variety. what are you hearing about what happened? >>, you know, unfortunately the details are still really really lacking, out of respect for his friends and family we hear are gathering at his house now. of course there are police on the scene and trying to figure out what the cause of death was. he was found unresponsive this afternoon in his hot tub according to l.a. police sources. right now that's all we know and we're monitoring social media, and everyone that knew him and wants to share these beautiful tributes, melissa rivers, and there are those on "friends" including maggie wheeler and you can't say the name chandler b

and melissa rivers posting on "x" as well, remembering her high school classmate and said simply, gone too soon. with us now is elizabeth wagmeister, thank you so much for joining us. just reading the stuff and the tributes and also just the stuff about his life and how he was open about his addiction issues, i think for some, it comes as a shock, but not as a huge surprise, and we don't know the cause of death just yet. just want to clarify that. >> absolutely. matthew perry was incredibly open in his memoir, which came out just about one year ago. he spoke about his lifelong troubles, really, with addiction. and when this memoir came out, people were really shocked at the severity of his struggle with addiction. matthew perry said that sometimes he was taking upwards of 55 vicodin per day. that he had attended over 6,000 aa meetings, he had over 14 surgeries and had been in rehab numerous times, spending millions of dollars on his struggle to sobriety. this is a disease, as we know. the opioid epidemic is a major issue in our country. and matthew perry was part of that. but still, wi

melissa rivers posted on x a high school classmate died today. so sad gone too soon. rip friends was produced by warner brothers who released a statement that reads we are devastated to learn of matthew perry's passing. he was a true gift to us. all our hearts go out to his family, loved ones and all of his fans here on hollywood boulevard. fans are also remembering matthew perry telling us they're devastated by the news. we grew up watching him so like it's honestly kind of sad something like some of that. you idolize a lot like. >> like helping you the showbiz like you look up to him the most because like the super funny, like usual relate to him. so it is kind of sad when somebody relate to pass away. i think it was actually just kind of getting rediscovered is how i felt about it. >> yeah, you have the issues and has passed but there is >> there's kind like a new light to them. and so this cat. >> was a shock and fans out here on hollywood boulevard say matthew perry's passing has inspired them to go back and watch reruns of friends just to get another glimpse of