Hank Azaria has opened up about the details of Matthew Perry's funeral after the star's sudden passing aged 54.
The 59-year-old revealed that there was "laughing and crying" at the late Friends star's funeral which took place last week.
Perry, who was best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the hit 90s sitcom Friends, tragically passed away after he reportedly drowned in a hot tub at his home in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles.
Local authorities were called to the property after reports of a "water emergency" and details later revealed that a bystander, believed to be his assistant, was forced to pull the actor out of the water and call 911.
In a statement about the initial call-out, the Los Angeles Fire Department also revealed some further details about the devastating incident, stating that emergency responders found Perry "unconscious in a stand-alone jacuzzi" when they were called to his home on October 28.
A spokesperson for the department told the outlet that "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.
"A rapid medical assessment, sadly, revealed the man was deceased prior to first responder arrival," they added.
Perry's funeral was held in LA on November 3, with the star being buried a Forest Lawn cemetery, which is symbolically opposite the Warner Brothers studios where Friends was filmed for ten years.
The ceremony was private, with invites only extended to close family and friends - a total of approximately 20 were said to be at the function.
All five lead actors from the Friends cast - Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer - came to the funeral wearing black while sharing their grief for their friend.
Actor and close friend of Perry's, Hank Azaria, was also in attendance, recently confirming the news to The Messenger during an interview and sharing some details of the day.
When asked by the outlet how he was holding up after such an emotional moment, he responded: "I was at the funeral last weekend. You know, sad. He was a hilarious man, so we would sort of [be] alternately laughing and crying remembering him.
"We’ve all had people we’ve lost," he continued. "The world really lost him. In a way, it’s nice to have the world sort of sharing with you."
Azaria opened up about the pair's friendship after the news of Perry's death, stating that he helped the comedian battle addiction despite enduring his own struggles.
"I really loved him," Azaria said in a tribute video posted to Instagram. "From a recovery perspective - I mean, I’m a sober guy for 17 years. I want to say that the night I went into AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), Matthew brought me in."
He continued: "The whole first year I was sober, we went to meetings together... As a sober person, he was so caring and giving and wise and he totally helped me get sober. I really wish he could have found it in himself to stay with the sober life more consistently."
Azaria then stated that Perry's loved ones felt like they had "lost him."
"A lot of us who were close to him felt like we lost him to drugs and alcohol a long time ago, because, as he documented in his autobiography, there was so much suffering," he said.
Have a look at the video below:The Independent reported that on Friday (10 November), Perry’s death certificate was released, showing that the actor’s cause of death remains "deferred" after it was deemed "inconclusive" when an initial postmortem showed no signs of meth or fentanyl in his system.
A conclusive update is not expected for several weeks at the least, until the full toxicology report is completed.
