Matthew Perry Didn't Want “Friends” To Be His Most Important Legacy
“When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned,” Matthew Perry said in November 2022, just less than a year before his sudden passing. He had just published his autobiography, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. That "terrible thing" was addiction; the actor confessed to relapsing “60 or 70 times” during his lifetime at the total cost of around $9 million. Through his candor, Perry was using his experience to help others fighting similar demons, and before he died, he was extremely clear that Chandler Bing was not the main thing he wanted to be remembered for.
An accomplished actor
He may be best-known today for his portrayal of Chandler Bing in Friends, but actor Matthew Perry was performing long before that iconic show started. Born in 1969 in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Perry gravitated towards two things early on in his life: tennis and acting.
However, it was after his move to Los Angeles at age 15 that the ball really started rolling for the young Perry, and acting seemed to be the path he was destined to take.
Early roles
As a student at high school he landed his first movie role in the 1988 coming-of-age flick A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon. During the same period, Perry appeared in the short-lived sitcom Second Chance.
He scored a part as the younger version of main character Charles Russell, played by Kiel Martin. Unfortunately, declining ratings and a dwindling fan base prompted the show’s cancellation in 1988.
Pro athlete or pro actor?
Undeterred, Perry persevered and followed it up with other projects including Sydney and Home Free. Even though he was a high-ranking junior tennis player in his youth, it was becoming more and more apparent that his biggest successes were going to be in the world of acting.
In 1994 Perry finally made good on that potential. He landed what would become the defining role of his career — and became one of the most beloved characters in television history.
Hello, Friends
Of course, Perry became an overnight sensation when he was cast in the hugely popular American sitcom Friends. First aired in 1994, the show captured the zeitgeist and went on to become one of the most successful programs ever made. Indeed, where Second Chance had been a very hit-and-miss affair, Friends was a hit with a capital H.
The sitcom focused on the lives of six tight-knit buddies living in Manhattan as they experienced relationship issues, work quandaries, and life’s ups and downs. Perry played the witty Chandler Bing, and he struck gold as audiences lapped up every minute of it.
Saying goodbye
During the show’s run, Perry also appeared in various other projects, including Three to Tango and Serving Sara. All good things must come to an end, though, and Friends was no different. In 2004, after ten rollercoaster-ride seasons, the series finally reached its poignant conclusion.
All eyes were on Perry and his co-stars to see what they would do next. Friends was a tough act to follow. But after the end of the hit show, Perry didn’t stop shining bright on screen.
Pastures new
He branched out and appeared in TV shows like Studio 60 on Sunset Strip and the movies Birds of America and 17 Again. Sadly, though, he never quite reached the same level of success with these projects as he did during his stint on Friends.
And while his stature in Hollywood inevitably waned as a consequence, life away from the screen wasn’t easy, either. As it turned out, Perry had been battling demons that would later come as a shock to fans who knew him as the fun, silly Chandler Bing.
Personal struggles
While everything had looked rosy in front of the camera during his ten years on Friends, matters were a whole lot greyer away from the screen. It all began in 1997 when Perry had a nasty jet-ski accident.
This pivotal incident led to him taking painkillers to ease his discomfort, and it started a long and difficult battle with addiction, one which would change the trajectory if his entire life.
Getting help
Having something of an addictive personality, Perry’s reliance on painkillers then bled over into other forms of self-medication, including alcohol. Ultimately, this led to Perry checking himself into rehab and the first stab at getting himself clean.
But it wasn’t entirely successful. Perry would end up in rehab 15 times during the course of his life.
“When I'm skinny, it's pills”
In 2001 Perry found himself back in rehab to undergo treatment for his addictions. In addition to the painkiller Vicodin, Perry had become hooked on amphetamines, methadone, and alcohol. And unsurprisingly, this started to affect his health. Perry’s weight yo-yoed, and he was admitted to hospital suffering from pancreatitis.
“You can track the trajectory of my addiction if you gauge my weight from season to season,” Perry wrote in his 2022 memoir. “When I'm carrying weight, it's alcohol; when I'm skinny, it's pills. When I have a goatee, it's lots of pills.”
“It was so public”
In 2015 Perry spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the pressure he’d felt appearing on Friends while simultaneously trying to cope with his addictions. “I’m a pretty private person, but I was on a TV show that 30 million people were watching,” he said. “It was so public what was happening to me.”
Perry’s struggles behind the scenes appeared to affect his memory, too. In a 2016 interview with the BBC, Perry was asked what his least favorite episode of Friends was. “I think the answer is, I don’t remember three years of it, so none of those,” he replied. “I was a little out of it at the time. Somewhere between seasons three and six.”
“I wanted to be famous so badly”
It’s possible that Perry never handled fame the way he thought he would, and this too may have contributed to his addictive personality. The limelight was something he actively chased, which he told The New York Times in 2002. “There was steam coming out of my ears,” he said. “I wanted to be famous so badly.”
That said, when Perry broke into show business, he quickly realized that it wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. “You want the attention, you want the bucks, and you want the best seat in the restaurant,” he went on. “I didn’t think what the repercussions would be.”
Terrifying consequences
Perry revealed in October 2022, just before the release of his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, that he had almost died a few years earlier as a result of his addictions. He said he’d gone into a coma for two weeks and was in hospital for five months.
He also revealed that he’d had to use a colostomy bag for a year after his colon had burst due to opioid use. When he was first taken to hospital, apparently his family were told he had only a “2 percent chance to live.”
"I didn't know how to stop"
"I didn't know how to stop," Perry told People. "If the police came over to my house and said, 'If you drink tonight, we're going to take you to jail,' I'd start packing. I couldn't stop because the disease and the addiction is progressive. So it gets worse and worse as you grow older."
But it was the near-death experience that finally motivated him to get his addiction under control. It was a hard road — his 15 stints in rehab reportedly set him back around $9 million.
Finding sobriety
“My therapist said, ‘The next time you think about taking OxyContin, just think about having a colostomy bag for the rest of your life,’” he told People. "And a little window opened, and I crawled through it.”
Having managed to overcome huge personal challenges, Perry was proud of his well-earned sobriety — and he wanted to help others who were plagued by the same suffering he'd experienced.
“That this was it”
Perry began dedicating his life to helping others in similar situations. He even set up his own home in Malibu to help those struggling with the same issues that had plagued him for so long.
Perry also decided that he wanted to write his very candid book as a way to help other people who may have been on similarly destructive paths to him.
Helping people
"I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side of everything again," Perry told People. "I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober — and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction — to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people."
“[Staying sober is] important, but if you lose your sobriety, it doesn’t mean you lose all that time and education,” he added. “Your sober date changes, but that’s all. As long as you were able to fight your way back without dying, you learn a lot.”
His true legacy
About a year before his sudden passing in October 2023, Perry opened up about his dedication to helping other people going through similar challenging experiences to him.
And what was clear was that the actor wanted this to be what he would be remembered for first and foremost — not for playing the lovable Chandler Bing on Friends.
“Lived well, loved well”
“I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker,” Perry said on the “Q with Tom Power” podcast in November 2022 in Toronto to promote his memoir. “And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That’s what I want.”
Perry added, “The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it.”
“I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that”
“When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned,” Perry continued. “I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.” The actor’s memoir, which was published almost exactly a year before his death, dealt a lot with the topic of mortality.
At the start of the book, Perry writes, “I should be dead… My mind is out to kill me, and I know it. I am constantly filled with a lurking loneliness, a yearning, clinging to the notion that something outside of me will fix me.”
A remarkable life: 1969-2023
Perry passed away at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023, aged 54. It came as a shock to the world, an untimely end to such a remarkable, though challenging, life. His legacy, while forever linked to Chandler Bing, a character who brought joy and relief to so many, goes so much deeper. Through his openness about his personal struggles, Perry helped many others and left an important message for the world: you are never alone.
Perry joins a list of other exceptional talents who have passed away this year, leaving the world a little less bright. He will be sorely missed.
Richard Roundtree (1942-2023)
Shaft catapulted Richard Roundtree to fame in 1971 — and the actor was a trailblazer from then on. He particularly won plaudits for speaking publicly about his breast cancer diagnosis in 1993. The actor survived that health scare, but it was another kind of cancer that eventually took his life 30 years later. He died at the age of 81 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.
"Richard's work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men in film," his manager, Patrick McMinn, told The Hollywood Reporter. "The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated."
Piper Laurie (1932-2023)
Rosetta Jacobs was just 17 years old when she changed her name to Piper Laurie. She almost immediately made an impact as Ronald Reagan's daughter in 1950's Louisa, but it was the following year's The Prince Who Was a Thief that proved to be her breakthrough. Her most memorable role, however, has to be as the monstrous mother in Carrie.
Laurie continued to appear in horror movies for much of the rest of her career. She called these roles "a hoot" because "it was wonderful to get all that stuff out, like childhood play-acting." She passed away at the age of 91.
Burt Young (1940-2023)
You probably know Burt Young best as Paulie Pennino in the Rocky franchise. He appeared in six of those movies opposite star Sylvester Stallone. After hearing the news of Young's passing, Stallone wrote on Instagram, "To my dear friend, Burt Young, you were an incredible man and artist, I and the world will miss you very much."
Young had 160 other acting credits to his name and even had a healthy second career as a painter later in life. He passed away at the age of 83 on October 8, 2023. No cause of death was given.
Suzanne Somers (1946-2023)
Suzanne Somers rose to fame in the 1970s as Chrissy on the long-running ABC sitcom Three's Company. She graduated to become a family's matriarch in Step by Step, an equally long-running sitcom on ABC in the 1990s. But Somers actually made her multi-million-dollar fortune after investing in the famous exercise gear the ThighMaster and the ButtMaster.
The actor and fitness guru died on October 15, 2023, just one day shy of her 77th birthday. “Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning,” publicist R. Couri Hay confirmed. “She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years.”
Michael Gambon (1940-2023)
Harry Potter fans were united in their grief after the passing of Michael Gambon at the age of 82. But while a younger generation might know Gambon primarily for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the Potter films, Gambon's life and career were so much more than that.
After all, the man had a Knighthood before he ever set foot in Hogwarts! He was one of the greatest theater actors of his time, and his screen credits include everything from The Singing Detective to Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Bob Barker (1923-2023)
The obituaries for Bob Barker made almost as much of his animal rights activism as they did about his 50-year hosting gig on The Price Is Right. Barker himself made a point of combining these two passions by telling viewers at the end of every The Price Is Right show, “Don’t forget to have your pets spayed or neutered!”
In fact, in an interview with the Archive of American Television, Barker said, “How would I like to be remembered? As the man who said, ‘Have your pets spayed or neutered.’”
Angus Cloud (1998-2023)
Angus Cloud made a name for himself as one of the leads of HBO juggernaut Euphoria. And after Cloud's death, the creator of Euphoria, Sam Levinson, told The Hollywood Reporter, “There was no one quite like Angus. He was too special, too talented, and way too young to leave us so soon.”
The actor was just 25 years old when he passed away at his home in Oakland, California. The star had previously been open about his struggles with mental health. His death was ruled an accidental overdose.
William Friedkin (1935-2023)
Almost exactly 50 years after his masterpiece The Exorcist was released in theaters, director William Friedkin passed away at the age of 87. Friedkin directed many other successful films throughout his long career, but The Exorcist and The French Connection cast a long shadow.
"To me, The Exorcist was a story about the mystery of faith, and I tried to depict that as realistically as possible," he once said of his most famous film. The result was a classic that won Oscars, scored big at the box office, and continues to scare audiences to this day.
Paul Reubens (1952-2023)
After Paul Reubens passed away on July 30, 2023, he released a posthumous statement on his Instagram page. “Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” he wrote. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans, and supporters.
“I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.” Reubens, who was beloved for playing Pee-wee Herman, died after a private battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.
Sinéad O’Connor (1966-2023)
Sinéad O’Connor was just 56 years old when she died in July 2023. The news of her sudden passing left the music world and Ireland in a state of shock. “It’s like a light has gone out, hasn’t it?” said musician Kate Bush. “A beacon on a high mountain.” Others paid O’Connor similarly glowing tributes, highlighting her signature track “Nothing Compares 2 U” and how fearlessly she spoke out about injustices during her career.
This bravery didn’t always endear her to the public in the moment — many couldn’t get over her tearing up a picture of the pope on Saturday Night Live — but it ensured her legacy will live on for a very long time.
Tony Bennett (1926-2023)
The iconic singer collected 20 Grammy Awards, won a Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold over 50 million records globally throughout his 60-year career. Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in 1926, he came from a poor family of Italian-American immigrants living in Queens, New York. After being discovered by singer Pearl Bailey and comedian Bob Hope, the World War II veteran became one of the most celebrated singers in the biz.
He kept his career alive by adapting to changing musical tastes and collaborating with modern stars like Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga. Bennett was even described as “the best singer in the business” by Frank Sinatra. High praise, indeed!
Jane Birkin (1946-2023)
Jane Birkin, the daughter of a World War II spy, was one of the most popular singers in Europe during the 1960s. She had an amazing voice, and she seemed so effortlessly cool. She also helped define 1970s fashion and inspired the iconic Hermes Birkin bag.
But behind the scenes, her life wasn’t easy, especially when it came to her longtime love Serge Gainsbourg. No matter what, though, she’ll probably always be considered an icon. She overcame leukemia in the late 1990s and a stroke in 2021. But in July 2023 the model died at the age of 76.
Alan Arkin (1934-2023)
After Alan Arkin passed away in June 2023, his sons released a statement to People saying their father "was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man." There are few people who would argue with that statement. Arkin came to prominence in the early 1960s and received an Oscar nomination for his first significant part in a movie (The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming).
He would go on to excel in supporting or ensemble roles on film and TV in the likes of Edward Scissorhands, Catch-22, and The Kominsky Method. Arkin finally bagged that Oscar in 2007, too, for his hilarious turn in Little Miss Sunshine.
Treat Williams (1951-2023)
The world was shocked when, on June 13, 2023, actor Treat Williams died as the result of a motorcycle accident in rural Vermont. Williams was just 71 years old. His wife, Pam Van Sant, and their two children reported that they were "shocked and greatly bereaved" by the news — and Williams' many fans would've been too.
Williams had lit up the acting world for over 50 years, turning in iconic performances in movies as varied as Hair, Prince of the City, and Deep Rising. He also found an audience on the popular TV series Everwood.
Tina Turner (1939-2023)
What's love got to do with it? For Tina Turner, love was everything! Rising from the bottom, she became a star on the back of a stellar voice and incredible showwomanship. Turner and her ex-husband, Ike, enjoyed success in 1966 when their single “River Deep – Mountain High” was a huge hit.
In 1971 Turner took home the first of her seven Grammys with “Proud Mary,” and the hits kept coming, including her reminiscence of her childhood home: “Nutbush City Limits.” The singer reimagined herself as a solo artist, and she even received the honor of recording a Bond song. Hey, she wasn't called the Queen of Rock and Roll for nothing!
Jim Brown (1936-2023)
Jim Brown's athletic achievements can’t be ignored: he was an NFL MVP three times and is thought to be one of the best football players of all time. But it’s his activism during the Civil Rights movement that really solidified his legacy. As a main organizer of the Cleveland Summit, Brown was one of the first athletes to speak out about important social issues.
And if you still don’t recognize him, then you probably know him as Robert Jefferson in The Dirty Dozen. Oh, and when he kissed Raquel Welch in 100 Rifles, it was the first major interracial kiss in a Hollywood movie. Clearly, no one could break boundaries quite like Jim Brown.
Gordon Lightfoot (1938-2023)
Bob Dylan was especially fond of Gordon Lightfoot. As reported by The New York Times in 2023, Dylan once remarked, “I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like... Every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever.” These weren’t just empty words, either, as Dylan also covered Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain.”
His biggest song was “If You Could Read My Mind,” which was covered by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Olivia Newton-John, and Liza Minnelli. He suffered a few health scares in his time, but Lightfoot survived them all to live until the age of 84.
Jerry Springer (1944-2023)
Most people probably know Jerry Springer as the host of his self-titled, scandalous TV show. And that's fair enough: he did make almost 4,000 episodes of The Jerry Springer Show, and they all had titles such as "I Married a Horse." But there was more to Springer than crazy TV antics.
It may come as a surprise to learn that his career started in politics. He was even the Cincinnati mayor in 1977, and he tried to run for governor of Ohio in 1982. It wasn't until he left politics to become a news anchor that his TV career kicked into high gear. He died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 79.
Harry Belafonte (1927-2023)
In addition to leading an outstanding career and giving the world some of the most iconic calypso music ever to be heard, Harry Belafonte left a powerful legacy that combated adversity with, of all things, joy. People are still singing "The Banana Boat Song" and "Jump in the Line!"
Belafonte was also heavily involved in the Civil Rights movement and acted as one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants, as well as one of the main organizers of the March on Washington. Belafonte continued his activism right up until the end of his life. He was an early advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and spent much of his time visiting and raising funds for impoverished areas in Africa.
Robert Blake (1933-2023)
When Bonnie Lee Bakley was murdered in cold blood, suspicions naturally fell on her husband Robert Blake – the star of stage and screen. Years before he was on trial for murder, Blake was one of the adorable Little Rascals in the popular Our Gang shorts. He struggled with addiction as he got older, but an acting class saved his life. Blake’s breakout role came in 1967 when he starred as criminal Perry Smith in the Oscar-nominated In Cold Blood.
For many, though, the actor is most famous for his portrayal of Tony Baretta in the cop TV show Baretta... and for his alleged involvement in his wife's murder. Although he was found not guilty, he was made to pay damages totaling $15 million to her family.
Tom Sizemore (1961-2023)
Tom Sizemore was known for playing complicated, violent men in movies such as Heat, Saving Private Ryan, and Natural Born Killers. But it seems that Sizemore was just as volatile in his private life as he was on screen.
He suffered from many demons and had multiple public scandals, arrests, and setbacks during his Hollywood career. “Temptation is impossible for me to resist,” he once said. “Come on, this is Hollywood… it’s in the job description.” He was only 61 years old when he died of a brain aneurysm in March 2023.
Richard Belzer (1944-2023)
When Richard Belzer passed away in February 2023, fans of both Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit were heartbroken. You see, the stand-up comic had portrayed Detective John Munch on both shows for more than 20 years! Over the years, art imitated life, with Munch becoming more and more like the man playing him.
Belzer once said, “I would never be a detective. But if I were, that’s how I’d be. They write to all my paranoia and anti-establishment dissidence and conspiracy theories.” This might explain why the character also made a cameo appearance in the ultimate conspiracy show: The X-Files!
Raquel Welch (1940-2023)
Raquel Welch will forever be remembered for her star-making turn in the fantasy adventure One Million Years B.C., which saw the actress sport a now-iconic furry bikini as she emerged from the sea. This particular image was undoubtedly one of the defining shots of 1960s Hollywood and established the actress as the natural sex symbol successor to Marilyn Monroe.
But Raquel soon proved that there was more to her than just good looks. It was her supporting turn in the 1973 swashbuckler classic The Three Musketeers that finally saw her talent officially recognized. For this part, she went on to scoop a Golden Globe. Welch proved that you could be sexy and powerful, in Hollywood and beyond.
Burt Bacharach (1928-2023)
Dionne Warwick summed up the music world’s feelings after Burt Bacharach's death on February 8, 2023. She said, “Burt’s transition is like losing a family member. These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my Dear Friend and my Musical Partner.
On the lighter side, we laughed a lot and had our run-ins, but always found a way to let each other know our family, like roots, were the most important part of our relationship. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, letting them know he is now peacefully resting and I too will miss him.”
Lisa Loring (1958-2023)
Lisa Loring was the first to introduce Wednesday Addams to audiences in the TV show The Addams Family. Loring, who tragically passed away in 2023 at age 64, set the tone for all future performances of the character — despite being only five years old when she started playing her.
Other notable performances included parts in The Pruitts of Southampton, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., and As the World Turns. After Loring passed away, her daughter told Variety, “She went peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands.”
Cindy Williams (1947-2023)
Cindy Williams was initially uncertain about playing Shirley in Laverne & Shirley. She wanted to be a film star, not a TV actress. Plus, she knew that Penny Marshall would always have her brother Garry — the show’s writer — on her side on set.
And so she was almost replaced with a similarly-named actress in Liberty Williams; eventually, however, she took the role, and the rest was history. Her other fondly remembered performances came in the 1970s classics American Graffiti and The Conversation. She died at the age of 75 following a short illness.
David Crosby (1941-2023)
David Crosby was 81 years old when he passed away on January 18, 2023. He was among the most recognizable figures in rock and had a career spanning more than 60 years.
First as a founding member of The Byrds and then as a pioneer of "California Sound" with Crosby, Stills & Nash, David Crosby sang the song of the counterculture generation. Crosby even released a celebrated solo album in 2021, much to the delight of his hundreds of thousands of fans around the world.
Gina Lollobrigida (1927-2023)
Whether she was sauntering through Hollywood or crouching behind a camera, Gina Lollobrigida had admirers at every phase of her career. Lollobrigida was best remembered for her roles in films such as Trapeze, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Come September. After earning three Golden Globe nominations and winning one, the Italian actress pivoted to photojournalism.
Only someone truly special could have successfully gone from a universally beloved sex symbol to a revered photojournalist, but that’s exactly what Gina Lollobrigida did. She was 95 when she died in January 2023, and she left behind an Order of Merit of the Italian Republic award, one of Italy’s highest honors.
Lisa Marie Presley (1968-2023)
Lisa Marie Presley’s death on January 12, 2023, shocked the world for many reasons. Not only was she just 54 years old, but she was also the only child of the beloved Elvis Presley. She led an extraordinary and complicated life that echoed her father’s in many ways, including tabloid drama and musical success.
Her love life was the center of national attention, and she had relationships with Danny Keough, Michael Jackson, and Nicholas Cage. Away from her love life, Lisa Marie kick-started a career in music, with her 2012 album Storm and Grace in particular getting rave reviews. She left behind three daughters: Riley, Harper, and Finley.
Carole Cook (1924-2023)
Rumor has it that the character actress gained the stage name “Carole” – her birth name was Mildred – because her co-star Lucille Ball told her to. Ball ended up becoming Cook’s comedy mentor while they worked on The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy together. In fact, Lucille Ball was Matron of Honor at Cook’s wedding!
Carole Cook went on to have memorable roles in the kooky animated film The Incredible Mr. Limpit and the ‘80s classic Sixteen Candles. Not one to leave any avenue unexplored, Cook also performed in the original Broadway cast of 42nd Street and took over for Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly! She died at 98 years old in 2023.
Melinda Dillon (1939-2023)
Many people don't know that prior to starring in A Christmas Story, Melinda Dillon was already an accomplished actress. She'd won a Tony award for her performance in the original production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and was even nominated for two Oscars for Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Absence of Malice.
Just a few short years after A Christmas Story, she starred in Harry and the Hendersons, Magnolia, and Law and Order: SVU. She retired from acting in the early 2000s and passed away at the age of 83 on January 9, 2023.