Ahead of the first anniversary of Matthew Perry’s death, his mother, Suzanne Morrison, is detailing their last moments together.
“He went through a period, interestingly enough, just before he died when he was showing me one of his new houses,” Morrison said in a Friday, October 25, preview for her upcoming appearance on the Today show. “He came up to me and he said, ‘I love you so much, and I’m so happy to be with you now. And I’m so …’”
She continued, “It was almost as though it was a premonition or something. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I thought, ‘How long has it been since we’ve had a conversation like that?’ It’s been years.”
News broke in October 2023 that Perry was found dead in a jacuzzi at the age of 54. His cause of death, following an investigation, was ruled as “acute effects of ketamine.” Perry’s doctor, Dr. Mark Chavez, as well as one of his friends, Erik Fleming, and his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, each pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine during their respective trials in September and October.
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Perry was the only child of Morrison and ex-husband John Bennett Perry, who each went on to have more kids with new partners. Suzanne is now married to Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison.
“There was an inevitability to what was going to happen next to him, and he felt it very strongly,” Suzanne recalled to Today’s Savannah Guthrie of her son’s final moments. “But he said, ‘I’m not frightened anymore,’ and it worried me.”
Suzanne’s daughter Caitlin Morrison also recently addressed Perry’s death.
“He had this ability to fill up a room with light,” Caitlin, 43, told Hello! Canada in an interview published on Wednesday, October 23. “When people were in a room with [Matthew], there was this magnetic energy. Everybody just had a smile on their face, and they clung to everything that he said.”
Caitlin and father Keith, 77, launched a nonprofit foundation in Matthew’s name and honor.
“When [Matthew] suddenly died, it was incredibly shocking,” Keith told Hello! Canada. “Anybody who has lost a child will tell you that, even if you are in some way prepared for the possibility, it’s shattering. What we have decided to do is hang on to that determination and try to do something useful.”
