Ozzy Osbourne explained Matthew Perry’s death
Matthew Perry, best known for his role as Chandler Bing on “Friends,” passed away in 2023 at age 54 after being found unresponsive in a hot tub at his home. The autopsy later revealed that the actor died due to “acute effects of ketamine,” with drowning and coronary artery disease being listed as other factors that contributed to his death.
In Ozzy Osbourne’s new posthumous memoir “Last Rites,” the Black Sabbath singer shared his memories of Perry and revealed that the late “Friends” star would attend AA (alcoholics anonymous) meetings at his house.
“He used to come to our house for AA meetings, or so my wife tells me,” Osbourne wrote. “The funniest, most talented bloke. And he was trying so hard to stay on the right path.”
He continued, reflecting on Perry’s death: “Then one day he listened to his addiction telling him it was OK to get loaded, and that was it — game over. I felt so sad when they said he’d been found in his hot tub, unresponsive, with ketamine in his system. He’d given everything he had to stay clean. But it wasn’t enough.”
Alice In Chains guitarist remembers Ozzy Osbourne
This past July, Alice in Chains performed at Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s farewell show “Back to the Beginning” at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. Seventeen days later, Osbourne passed away at the age of 76.
While speaking to Guitar World in a new interview, guitarist Jerry Cantrell reflected on the significance of the event.
“It was nuts,” he said regarding his participation in the show. “We paid tribute – we did our little part to honor the man and the band. I’m grateful to have been invited, but most importantly, to share in it and see it happen.”
“I was on the side of the stage, surrounded by all my friends who’d just played. We watched the man and the band do their thing in their element one final time. It was f*cking epic. That’s a fine final goodbye right there for me!”
When asked about Osbourne’s legacy and how he’ll remember him, Cantrell replied:
“I don’t think it can be overstated how intertwined he and Black Sabbath are with all of rock ’n’ roll. If there are dominant genes for heavy rock and metal, it’s f*cking Sabbath. They’re on the Mount Rushmore – that’s f*cking big.
“Of course, I was very sad when Ozzy died. But upon further reflection, if you think about it, for him to rally and work his *ss off for a couple of years to do that thing, it’s perfect.”
Cantrell continued, noting that he believes “Back to the Beginning” served as a fitting send-off for the legendary musician.
“For [Tom] Morello and Sharon Osbourne to organize all that, and to pull it off let alone have it be as cool as it was… not many artists get that sort of exit,” he said. “Maybe it’s not perfect, but it’s pretty f*cking close. If you wanna talk about a walk-off home run, that’s what it was.”
