Friends’ David Schwimmer reveals way he celebrated show’s major milestone with co-star – following Matthew Perry’s death

The six main actors from the TV show Friends sitting at outdoor cafe tables.

FRIENDS star David Schwimmer has revealed the touching way he celebrated the show’s major milestone with one of his famous co-stars.

Known for being one of the biggest sitcoms in history, the cast lost one of their own when Matthew Perry died over a year ago.

David Schwimmer at New York Comic Con.
David Schwimmer has revealed how he celebrated a milestone in Friends’ history
a group of people standing in front of a door with the number 5 on it
Friends is one of the most iconic TV shows ever
a group of people drinking milkshakes with straws
The fan favourite is now over thirty years old

Friends has thrilled fans ever since it burst onto our TV screen in 1994.

The show – which was about a group of twenty-somethings living in New York – made stars of its cast.

Along with David, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and the late Matthew Perry all became global mega-stars and VERY rich in the process.

Fans couldn’t get enough of Ross, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey and Chandler, and at the height of their fame were reportedly paid a whopping $1M per episode.

The show celebrated it’s 30th anniversary last September, and actor David has opened up about how he celebrated it.

Whilst appearing on Aussie radio station Nova, host Smallzy asked the Friends star: “Do you reflect when you hit a milestone like 30 years? Do you think, ‘Wow what a great run’? Or do you go, ‘God, I feel really old, don’t say that’?”

“All of the above,” the TV star said, before explaining what “happened to be back in Los Angeles around the day that marked the 30th year of when we aired”.

He then revealed he was joined by co-star Matt LeBlanc, who famously played Joey Tribbiani.

“I took LeBlanc out to dinner, actually,” he shared. “We reminisced and toasted to the 30 years.”

How Friends started

Friends debuted on September 22, 1994 and ran for a decade, airing ten seasons and a whopping 236 episodes

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Over that time the series won over an army of fans across the world and became one of the biggest shows in history.

It has since been revealed the series was almost called  Six of One or Insomnia Cafe, before the show’s creators changed it to Friends.

The emotional finale, which aired on May 26, 2004, was deemed one of the most-watched TV finales of all time

Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer at an NBC Press Tour Party.
David celebrated 30 years of Friends with co-star Matt LeBlanc – seen here at the height of Friends’ fame
Matthew Perry at the 2022 GQ Men Of The Year Party.
Matthew Perry sadly died in October 2023
Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing in a blue sweater.
The late star played the beloved Chandler Bing

Sad death

David and Matt – along with their other Friends co-stars – are still coming to terms with the tragic death of Matthew Perry.

The star was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his LA home on October 28, 2023, having suffered acute effects of ketamine and drowning, his autopsy revealed.

Matthew was a much-loved member of the cast, and was known for playing the quick-witted Chandler Bing.