Matthew Perry was already dead when his assistant found his lifeless body submerged in the hot tub at his home late Saturday afternoon.
On Monday, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Nicholas Prange told Page Six that firefighters responded to Perry’s Pacific Palisades residence at 4:07 p.m. local time to find “an adult male unconscious in a stand-alone jacuzzi.”
“A bystander had brought the man’s head above the water and gotten him to the edge, then firefighters removed him from the water upon their arrival,” Prange said.
“A rapid medical assessment, sadly, revealed the man was deceased prior to first responder arrival.”
Prange added that the firefighters on the scene “didn’t perform CPR” on Perry, 54, “because he was already beyond medical help.”
We’re told that Los Angeles Police Department officers showed up at 4:10 p.m.
As previously reported, the actor had come back to his pad after playing a two-hour game of pickleball when he asked his assistant to run an errand.
Two hours later, the assistant discovered him unresponsive in his jacuzzi and called 911.
A short audio clip of the dispatch included a man saying “rescue 23” and “drowning,” but much of the recording was bleeped out before it was made public.
It was initially reported that first responders rushed to Perry’s house after receiving a call about a cardiac arrest.
Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times no illicit substances were discovered at the scene but that authorities did recover prescription medications, which follows TMZ’s report that “anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs and a COPD drug” were found on the premises.
COPD, short for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, causes airflow blockage and breathing-related problems; Perry — a recovering drug addict and alcoholic — previously admitted to being a smoker throughout his life.
Read more about Matthew Perry’s life and struggles:
- 55 Vicodin & a quart of vodka: The most shocking tales from Matthew Perry’s tell-all memoir
- Matthew Perry: How to tell which drugs I used during ‘Friends’
- Matthew Perry reveals why he broke up with Julia Roberts in the ’90s
- Matthew Perry claims Cameron Diaz once punched him in the face on secret date
- Matthew Perry, Valerie Bertinelli made out while Eddie Van Halen was passed out
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to us on Sunday that Perry’s autopsy was complete; however, the coroner has ordered more testing, including toxicology.
As these results remain pending, Perry’s cause of death has been “deferred.”
Though the head of the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division — which is investigating Perry’s passing — told the Times that his “cause of death may not be known for some time,” they noted that “foul play is not suspected.”
The late star’s “heartbroken” family issued a statement following “the tragic loss” of their “beloved son and brother.”
“Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend,” they said. “You all meant so much to him, and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love.”
