Lisa Kudrow Found A Note From Matthew Perry In Friends Wrap Gift 20 Years Later: "Timing Is Everything"

Friends star Lisa Kudrow shares that she found a note from the late Matthew Perry inside a cookie jar wrap gift he gave her 20 years ago. Created by Marta Kauffman and David Crane, the hit NBC sitcom first aired in 1994, chronicling the lives of six 20-somethings living in New York City. In addition to Kudrow and Perry, the Friends cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc. 19 years after the series finale, Perry died at his home in L.A. in October 2023 due to a ketamine overdose.

During a recent interview on The Drew Barrymore Show (via EW), Kudrow looks back on her time with Perry, specifically recalling the clock-shaped cookie jar he gave her as a wrap gift. According to the actor, she just recently opened it for the first time, finding a note that Perry wrote to her more than 20 years ago. Check out Kudrow's comment about the moment below:

"Matthew gave that to me at the end of our last episode. I recently found the note that he had in it for me. I hadn't opened it up or looked inside of it, but yeah, he did. He had a note in there and I forgot about it. Timing is everything."

The cookie jar was featured prominently as a piece of set decoration in Monica's apartment in the season 8 episode of Friends, "The One With The Cooking Class." Kudrow previously revealed to Jimmy Kimmel on a 2020 Zoom interview that Perry gave her the cookie jar as a wrap gift, explaining that it took on extra meaning for the pair after Kudrow, during a scene, mistook the cookie jar as a real clock during a moment of improv. She recalled to Kimmel: "We're done shooting and Matthew said, 'Did you point at the cookie jar and say, Look at the time?'"

What Kudrow's Comment Means For Matthew Perry's Legacy

How Perry Has Been Remembered

Matthew Perry as Chandler hugging Courteney Cox's Monica in the Friends finale

Perry's history of substance abuse is well known and well-documented, and he was open about his struggles with drugs and alcohol. During an interview on Britain's BBC Radio 2 (via EW) in 2016, Perry revealed his substance abuse was so extreme that he doesn't remember three years of his time on the show. "Somewhere between season 3 and 6," he explained during the interview, clarifying, "I was a little out of it."

Perry, however, is more than just his history of substance abuse, and his death prompted an outpouring of love not just from fans, but from his costars and those who knew him. All five of his Friends costars shared individual statements on social media, recalling just how kind, generous, and hilarious Perry was both on-screen and off. Cox, for example, recalled in her post one time before filming a scene that Perry whispered a funny improv line for her to stay. "He often did things like that," she wrote.

Our Take On Kudrow's Matthew Perry Story

Friends Was A Phenomenon

Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox playing the trivia quiz in Friends as Joey, Chandler, Rachel, and Monica — Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox playing the trivia quiz in Friends

Friends' series finale aired more than 20 years ago now, but the show and its cast members remain beloved to this day. The show still stands as one of the most influential sitcoms ever created. Perry, for his part, is often considered not just the funniest character on Friends, but one of the funniest sitcom characters of all time, and it's clear that he was also a strong friend and scene partner to his fellow castmates.

Friends ran for a total of 10 seasons and saw consistently high ratings. It took on a second life after it became available on streaming, with new generations discovering the show.

Though it would have been interesting to know what was written on the note inside the Friends wrap gift, it's completely understandable that Kudrow would want to keep the contents for herself. Kudrow finding that note is also a testament to how Perry still continues to live on, in a way, more than a year after his death.

Source: EW