Champions of the World

The long walk with Matthew Perry, Michael Imperioli on ambition, and Thich Nhat Hanh quotes.

The tone of some of the off-the-cuff obits about Matthew Perry was not surprising. Many of them used words like "succumbed," blamed demons for his death, and tried cutesy little ways to guess the plot of "The One Where Chandler Dies in a Hot Tub" to evade what will most likely be found in a coroner's report: that his death was caused by his lifelong addiction to drugs and alcohol. 

An editor friend of mine was quickly trying to cobble together info for what he saw as Perry’s inevitable enshrinement into the pill-gobblers wing of the Celebrity (Accidental) Overdose Hall of Fame. "Do we know that for sure?" I asked him. I mean, look: most 54-year-old people don't drown in their own hot tubs. I'm not naive.

My friend posited that if it were an overdose, it would be — and I think he used this exact word — "disappointing" to some of those who saw him as a success story, a White House-approved "Champion of Recovery,” no less.

I got testy. "Everybody dies, you know."

I also encouraged my friend to wait. Do an expansive oral history of his life's work in recovery a couple months from now. Talk to those he helped or who helped him. "I'm sure those stories are out there. There would be many people, celebrities and civilians alike, who'd participate." He agreed, but today, he needs a quick turnaround; maybe we can hit up someone he met with or a person who did a stint at his Malibu sober living. Hold up—we. I turned down the assignment. 

Within 30 minutes or so, I received an Instagram message from my pal Rory, who was a former paparazzi photographer. "When I was at TMZ he helped a pap who was an addict. The guy was shooting him every few days, and Matt saw how loaded he was and driving. Let him crash in his house for two days and then got him in a detox center. Weirdest part of all–guy became Charlie Sheen's personal assistant, Perry hooked the job up because at the point it was after Tiger Blood and Sheen was only allowing sober people in his life. Stayed with Sheen for 3 years…" 

I texted my editor friend some of the snippets. "See? Just wait." No response. 

Anyway, this got me thinking: We need more people who try and fail at this to keep trying. It's not gonna save everyone's life, but it will provide some solace and company for people who are too ashamed to face the "disappointed." Anyone who continuously volunteers their story of degradation and humiliation offers real value and service to a human race that needs all the help it can get. So keep that in mind, champions. We need you. Give us all you got.