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Remembering Matthew Perry of Friends and Richard Moll of Night Court

American and Canadian actor Matthew Perry, who starred as Chandler Bing on Friends, has died. On October 28, 2023, he was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles, California, and was pronounced dead at 4:17 pm that day. His death was revealed to have occurred due to "acute effects of ketamine". Other circumstances that contributed to his death included the effects of buprenorphine, drowning, and coronary artery disease. Mr. Perry was 54.

Perry's first television starring role was as Chazz Russell on the Fox sitcom Second Chance, which aired from September 26 to November 28, 1987. In its original format, the show starred Kiel Martin as Charles Russell, a deceased man, and Perry as his younger self, who is nicknamed Chazz. The series was then revamped under the new title Boys Will Be Boys, and ran in the new format from January 16 to May 14, 1988. In this revamp, the supernatural element was dropped, causing Kiel Martin and Joseph Maher to exit the cast. As the new title implied, the format now revolved solely around the antics of Chazz, Booch and Eugene. The casts included Randee Heller, William Gallo, Demian Slade, Terri Ivens (1988) and Adam Sadowsky (1988).

He next starred as Billy Kells on the short-lived 1990 CBS sitcom Sydney. Sydney Kells (Valerie Bertinelli), a private investigator from a family of police officers, relocates her one-woman private detective agency from New York City to her small hometown. Her over-protective brother Billy, a rookie police officer, tries to help her when he can. The series also starred Craig Bierko, Barney Martin, Rebeccah Bush, Perry Anzilotti and Daniel Baldwin.

Perry starred as Matt Bailey on the short-lived 1993 ABC sitcom Home Free. Matt Bailey is a free-spirited, if somewhat lazy, 22-year-old freelance journalist enjoying the good life at home with his indulgent mom Grace (Marian Mercer). The series also starred Diana Canova, Anndi McAfee, Scott McAfee, Dan Schneider, Brooke Theiss and Alan Oppenheimer.

He starred as Chandler Bing on the 1994-2004 NBC sitcom Friends. The show, which aired for ten seasons, revolves around six friends in their 20s and 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City. Chandler Bing is an executive in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration for a large, multinational corporation. He marries Monica, one of his best friends, in season seven, and they adopt twins at the end of the series. Perry received an Emmy nomination in 2002 for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series award. He shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for the role in 1996. Perry made a cameo as Chandler Bing in a 1995 episode of Caroline in the City. He appeared as himself in Friends: The Reunion in 2021. The cast of Friends included Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.

Perry was the co-creator, co-writer, executive producer, and star of the short-lived 2011 ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine. Ben Donovan (Perry) is the operations manager for the Sunshine Center, a second-tier arena in San Diego, who has to deal with the unusual demands of his job and his unpredictable boss, Crystal Cohen (Allison Janney). The single-camera comedy also starred Andrea Anders, James Lesure, Nate Torrence and Portia Doubleday.

He starred as Ryan King on the 2012-2013 NBC sitcom Go On. Ryan King is a sports talk radio host who joins a support group while trying to move on from his late wife's death. Perry was also one of the executive producers. The single-camera comedy also starred Laura Benanti, Julie White, Suzy Nakamura, Tyler James Williams, Brett Gelman, Sarah Baker and John Cho.

Perry co-developed, executive produced and starred in a reboot of the sitcom The Odd Couple portraying Oscar Madison for three seasons on CBS from 2015 to 2017. The show stars Matthew Perry as the slovenly Oscar Madison and Thomas Lennon as the obsessively-tidy Felix Unger. The cast included Lindsay Sloane, Yvette Nicole Brown and Wendell Pierce.

Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Charles in Charge, Silver Spoons, Just the Ten of Us, Empty Nest, Growing Pains (3 episodes as Sandy), Who's the Boss?, Dream On, The John Larroquette Show, Cougar Town and Web Therapy (2 episodes). In 2004, he made his directorial debut and acted as Murray in an episode of the fourth season of Scrubs, an episode which included his father, John Bennett Perry.

He starred as Matt Albie on the 2006-2007 NBC comedy-drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which was created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series takes place behind the scenes of a live sketch comedy show (also called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip or Studio 60) on the fictional television network NBS (National Broadcasting System), whose format is similar to that of NBC's Saturday Night Live. The show-within-a-show is run by executive producers Matt Albie and Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford). Matt serves as the head writer and Danny produces the show.

Perry received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2003 and 2004 for his performance as Joe Quincy in The West Wing. He appeared as attorney Todd Merrick in two episodes of Ally McBeal in 2002. He had a recurring role as attorney Mike Kresteva in four episodes of The Good Wife from 2012 to 2013 and three episodes of The Good Fight in 2017. He portrayed Ted Kennedy in the mini-series The Kennedys: After Camelot in 2017. Some of his other television guest apparances included 240-Robert, Highway to Heaven (2 episodes) and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1991).

He starred as Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky in The Whole Nine Yards (2000) and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards (2004). Some of his other film credits included A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988), She's Out of Control (1989), Fools Rush In (1997), Almost Heroes (1998), Three to Tango (1999), Serving Sara (2002), and 17 Again (2009). He received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his role as Ron Clark in the 2006 TNT movie The Ron Clark Shory.

Mr. Perry was a great comedic actor. He was very funny and memorable as Chandler Bing. He made everything he appeared in much better. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment that he brought us on television. He will be greatly missed.

Share your memories on our Friends message board. View photos in our galleries.

Nick at Nite aired a tribute special titled Matthew Perry: Thanks for Being a Friend on Sunday, October 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. It will re-air tonight at midnight.

The special features never-before-seen interviews with Perry, behind-the-scenes moments from the set over the past 35 years, and stories about Perry's best moments as Chandler Bing and his unbreakable bond with his co-stars.

Nick at Nite aired fan-favorite episodes of Friends featuring Perry in his iconic role as Chandler Bing after the special. Episodes will continue to air all this week through Sunday, November 5, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Actor Richard Moll, who was best known for playing Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon on Night Court, has died. He died at his home in Big Bear Lake, California, on October 26. Mr. Moll was 80.

Moll starred as baliff Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon on the 1984-1992 NBC sitcom Night Court. Bull Shannon is a seemingly dim-witted hulk of a figure, is actually patient, gentle and childlike. Although he is portrayed as dull and dim, he is actually a highly intelligent person with an IQ of 181. He is fiercely protective of Harry. Bull is known for his catchphrase, "Ooo-kay", and for clapping a hand loudly to his scalp when he realizes he had made a mistake. Moll appeared as Bull in a 1989 crossover episode with My Two Dads. He also used the Bull persona in commercials for Washington's Lottery. The cast of Night Court also included Harry Anderson, John Larroquette, Paula Kelly (season 1), Karen Austin (season 2), Selma Diamond (seasons 1 and 2), Ellen Foley (season 2), Charles Robinson (seasons 2-9), Markie Post (seasons 3-9), Florence Halop (season 3) and Marsha Warfield (seasons 4-9).

He had a recurring role as Drifter in 25 episodes of the 1999-2002 Nickelodeon sitcom 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd. Some of his sitcom guest appearances included Welcome Back, Kotter (1979), Happy Days (2 episodes), The Bad News Bears, Nobody's Perfect, Best of the West, Laverne & Shirley (2 episodes), Mork & Mindy, Alice, Just Our Luck, The Facts of Life (2 episodes as himself), Sledge Hammer!, 227, Out of This World (2 episodes), The Munsters Today, Martin, Getting By (5 episodes as Boo), Weird Science, Married with Children (2 episodes), Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Parent 'Hood, Anger Management and Kirby Buckets.

Some of his other television guest appearances included The Rockford Files, How the West Was Won, B.J. and the Bear, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (3 episodes), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Here's Boomer, Code Red (2 episodes), Bret Maverick (2 episodes), The Fall Guy, T.J. Hooker, Remington Steele, Fantasy Island, The Dukes of Hazzard (2 episodes), The A-Team (2 episodes), Highlander, Due South, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (4 episodes), Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Babylon 5, Baywatch, 7th Heaven, Smallville and Cold Case.

Moll was also known for his voiceover work as a villain with a deep, growling voice. He voiced Harvey Dent/Two-Face in the DC Animated Universe series Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures. He was the voice of Norman in Mighty Max. Some of his other voiceover credits included The Legend of Calamity Jane, The Incredible Hulk (2 episodes), Spider-Man: The Animated Series (6 episodes) and Justice League (2 episodes).

He starred as Big Ben in the 1986 horror film House. He earned a Saturn Award nomination for the role. Some of his other film credits included The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983), Sidekicks (1992), The Flintstones (1994), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), Scary Movie 2 (2001) and Headless Horseman (2007).

Mr. Moll was a gentle giant at 6' 8" tall. The Night Court producers needed someone who could realistically tower over the fairly tall male cast (including 6' 3" Harry Anderson and 6' 4" John Larroquette) as the imposing yet lovable court guard Bull Shannon. He had originally shaved his head for his role in the film Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn. The producers liked the look so much in his audition that they asked him to keep it. We thank him for his work on onscreen and his voiceover work. He will be sorely missed.

Share your memories on our Night Court message board. View photos in our galleries.

Catchy Comedy remembers Richard Moll who was best known for his role as the towering bailiff, Bull Shannon, on Night Court.

Watch a tribute to Richard Moll starting this Saturday, November 4th at 11a ET | 8a PT.

Posted by Todd -- SitcomsOnline.com at 12:00 PM

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Labels: Friends, Go On, Mr. Sunshine, Night Court, Obits, Odd Couple, Studio 60