Friends star David Schwimmer reveals how he celebrated the 30th anniversary of the iconic sitcom following the death of Matthew Perry

David Schwimmer has revealed how he celebrated the 30th anniversary of iconic sitcom Friends.

The legendary series celebrated the auspicious milestone in September last year, almost 12 months after the tragic death of star Mathew Perry.

Schwimmer, 58, who played Ross Geller in the long-running sitcom, made his revelation while chatting with NOVA’s Kent ‘Smallzy’ Small on his Smallzy’s Surgery show this week

With a Friends exhibition, featuring the instantly recognisable orange couch from the show’s coffee shop Central Perk, currently touring Australia, the radio host asked Schwimmer for his recollections of his time on the show.

‘I don’t want to make you feel old, but the Friend’s couch is in Australia. It’s celebrating 30 years,’ Smallzy said.

‘Do you reflect on when you hit a milestone like 30 years? Do you think: how did that happen?’

The legendary series celebrated the auspicious milestone in September last year, almost 12 months after the tragic death of star Mathew Perry

‘Do you think: “wow, what a great run. I don’t even know.” Or do you go: “God, I feel really old. Like, don’t say that?”

Responding with: ‘All of the above,’ Schwimmer then revealed the low-key way he celebrated the auspicious milestone.

‘I happened to be back in Los Angeles around the day that marked the 30th year of when we aired, and I took [Matt] LeBlanc out to dinner, actually, and we reminisced and we toasted to the 30 years,’ he said.

‘I mean, it’s amazing. It’s amazing to me that people are still watching and find it funny and comforting, and I feel nothing but gratitude, really.’

The 30th anniversary of Friends, in September 2024, was overshadowed by the death of star Matthew Perry almost a year prior.

Perry, who played the affable Chandler Bing on the sitcom, died, aged 54, from a ketamine overdose and drowning on October 28, 2023 at his Pacific Palisades home.

Following the star’s death, five people including two doctors, a live-in assistant and the alleged ‘Ketamine Queen’ dealer have been arrested in connection with the tragedy.

Doctors Salvador Plasencia, 42, and Mark Chavez, 54, alleged drug dealers Jasveen ‘Ketamine Queen’ Sangha, 41, and Eric Fleming, 54, and Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, have all been charged.

Chatting to NOVA’s Kent ‘Smallzy’ Small this week, Schwimmer revealed how he celebrated the auspicious milestone

‘I happened to be back in Los Angeles around the day that marked the 30th year of when we aired, and I took [Matt] LeBlanc out to dinner, actually, and we reminisced and we toasted to the 30 years,’ he said. Schwimmer is pictured with Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc

Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his LA home on October 28 by Iwamasa, with his cause of death later determined to be ‘the acute effects of ketamine’.

The live-in assistant Iwamasa has since admitted being the one who administered the fatal doses to the actor, after being trained how to deliver them by Plasencia.

Appearing on the US today show at the time of the series anniversary, creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and executive producer Kevin S Bright, revealed they were aware the pall the star’s death had placed over the celebrations.

‘It’s a huge loss and it does make the 30th a little fraught,’ Kauffman said before Bright added: ‘He made us laugh every day.’

Bright also revealed that Perry, whose struggles with addiction had been heavily publicised, had been ‘doing better’ in the lead up to his death.

‘He’d been fighting the good fight for so long, and it really did feel like, from the [2021 cast] reunion on, that he had finally found some peace.’ he said. 

Widely regarded as being one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, Friends ran on NBC for ten seasons.

The show made household names of the principal cast – David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and Lisa Kudrow.

The 30th anniversary of Friends, in September 2024, was overshadowed by the death of star Matthew Perry (pictured right) almost a year prior

Perry, who played the affable Chandler Bing on the sitcom, died, aged 54, from a ketamine overdose and drowning on October 28, 2023 at his Pacific Palisades home

It also made them some of the richest actors working in television, with the final two seasons netting them an eye watering $1million per episode for the final two seasons. 

Like the show that preceded it, the series’ finale was a cultural phenomenon , attracting a formidable 52.5 million viewers in the US. 

That made it the most-watched show on television since the Seinfeld finale six years prior.

In fact, the finale was the fifth most-watched last episode in history behind M*A*S*H, Cheers, The Fugitive and Seinfeld.