It is fair to say that ‘Perry’ isn’t the most common of surnames, even in the world of the entertainment industry. Having made a name for himself as a teenage in the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, Luke Perry might well have thought that he’d cornered the market for actors named ‘Perry’. When Friends became a massive hit, however, Matthew Perry joined him on that list. Matthew might also have pointed to his own father, who was an actor and model who used the professional name of John Bennett Perry. In the world of music, there is also Katy Perry, although her surname is related as she was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson.
Who Are We Talking About?
Most people will know at least one of the protagonists of this piece, given the fact that Beverley Hills, 90210 and Friends were two of the biggest TV series’ in the world when they were on television. Even so, it is worth taking a closer look at them both to outline who it is that we’re talking about:
Luke Perry
Born Coy Luther Perry III on the 11th of October, 1966, ‘Luke’, as he became known, was the middle child of Ann Perry and Coy Luther Perry Jr., who was a steelworker. He moved to Los Angeles in 1984 in order to pursue a career in acting, auditioning 256 times before getting his first job. He later moved to New York, gaining appearances in numerous soap operas. Unquestionably, his biggest break came when he was cast as Dylan McKay, the brooding son of a millionaire, in Beverly Hills, 90210. That was in 1990, with Perry becoming a teen idol and shooting to fame, appearing in numerous other TV shows as a result. He died on the 4th of March 2019, aged 52.
Matthew Perry
Born Matthew Langford Perry in Williamstown, Massachusetts, on the 19th of August, 1969, Matthew Perry got some roles as a youngster that included a three episode arc on Growing Pains. There is no question, though, that his big break came when he was cast in the role of Chandler Bing in the sitcom Friends. Just 24 at the time, the instant fame that came with the role was something that he struggled to deal with, having been addicted to alcohol when he was 14. He also became addicted to Vicodin after he was in a jet-ski accident in the 1990s. He went on to make appearances in the likes of The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. He died on the 28th of October, 2023.
Are They Related?
The fact that the two actors have the same name might lead some people to imagine that they must be related. Matthew Perry even had a small role in an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 when he was beginning his acting career, which will undoubtedly add to the confusion for some people. In the end, though, they were two completely unrelated actors who both died tragic deaths at far too young an age. Other than that, there is nothing that links the two either in a familial sense nor in any other way, so it is more a case of people making incorrect assumptions about them. For the record, Katy Perry also isn’t related to either of them.