Nearly three years after the death of Matthew Perry, fans have the chance to own a piece of his legacy through a charity auction of his personal belongings. Signed Friends scripts, an original Banksy, and a worn-in leather wallet, complete with the actor’s AmEx and SAG-AFTRA membership card, are among the items up for sale.
The auction, which will be held on Friday 5 June by Heritage Auctions, will benefit the Matthew Perry Foundation, a nonprofit that was set up in his name to support people living with addiction – a cause that was profoundly close to his heart, and to which he dedicated much of his time and energy in his lifetime.
Perry was 54 years old when he was found dead in a hot tub at his Hollywood home in October 2023 – the end of a life that was marked tragically and catastrophically by alcohol and drug addiction. The medical examiner determined Perry’s cause of death to be the acute effects of ketamine; the woman who provided the drugs – known as the “ketamine queen” – was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison.
“Matthew believed addiction should be met with compassion and science, not stigma and silence,” Lisa Kasteler Calio, chief executive of the Matthew Perry Foundation, said. “This auction fuels the Foundation’s work to expand access to evidence-based care and confront stigma. It is one more way we ensure that no one has to fight this disease alone.”
Currently, Banksy’s Girl with Balloon is the item predicted to fetch the most with an estimated price of more than $800,000 – followed by several other artworks and scripts of Friends episodes, including a signed copy of the 2004 finale, which has a current bid of $26,000 but is expected to go for much more on Friday.
Among the 130 lots of Perry’s personal effects, there are some that feel particularly significant, whether they speak to his legacy as a comedian or his unplumbed depths as a different sort of actor; his love of music or how cherished he was as a friend. Together, they create a portrait of a man that is perhaps closer to how Perry wanted to be remembered.
