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GENERAL ENGLISH · BREAKING NEWS · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

"FRIENDS" STAR
MATTHEW PERRY
FOUND DEAD

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1 Warm up
What do you know about this actor? What have you heard about him in the news lately?

Now complete the quotes from the actor’s most famous character, Chandler, with the words below.

a) before b) door c) week d) jokes e) talking f) eating g) gym

1. "Hi, I’m Chandler, I make when I’m uncomfortable."

2. "I’m funny, right? What do you know, you’re a . You just like knock-knock jokes."

3. "I say more dumb things 9 a.m. than most people say all day."

4. "I’m full, and yet I know if I stop this, I’ll regret it."

5. "I’m a member. I try to go four times a , but I’ve missed the last
1200 times."

6. "I tend to keep until somebody stops me."

What can the words in bold mean? Use the dictionary to check and compare your answers with your
partner.

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"FRIENDS" STAR MATTHEW PERRY FOUND DEAD

2 Pre-listening: vocabulary
Complete the following definitions with the missing vowels (a, e, i, o, u).

1. c _ m _ d _ _ n (n) = a person whose job is to make others laugh

2. m _ nt _ l h _ _ lth (phr) = the condition of our mind

3. _ ss _ _ s (n) = problems

4. thr _ _ gh _ _ t (prep) = every part of something

5. s _ tc _ m (n) = short for situation comedy, a type of TV programme

6. p _ l _ t (n) = the first episode of a series, as a test

7. _ r _ _ nd the c _ rn _ r (phr) = something that is coming soon

8. g _ th _ r (v) = bring people together into a group

9. _ c _ n _ c (adj.) = a very famous person or thing

3 Breaking news: listening for gist

Watch the new report about Matthew Perry’s death. Put the topics below in the order they are
mentioned in the video.

A famous quote from Friends.

A politician posting a response to his death.

Someone who acted with him in Friends.

The name of Matthew Perry’s most famous character.

What his fans said.

An actress who was his friend before he was famous.

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"FRIENDS" STAR MATTHEW PERRY FOUND DEAD

4 Breaking news: listening for details

Complete the script with the words below. Then listen again and check.

a) throughout b) media c) mental

d) pilot e) comedian f) corner
g) iconic h) gathered i) sitcom

1
Matthew Perry was found dead in a bathtub in his Los Angeles home at age 54. He
2 3
had health issues, as well as problems with drugs, most of his life
but he also had a brilliant acting career. His most famous character by far was Chandler Bing from the
4
90s Friends.

5
Emotional responses to his death are all over social . Actress Gwyneth Paltrow
remembered their time together in 1993, before he became world-famous. She said Matthew was
6
nervous because he had just filmed the for Friends and it hadn’t been shown on TV
7
yet, but his big break was just around the .

Morgan Fairchild, who played Perry’s mother in Friends, posted: "The loss of such a brilliant young
actor is a shock." Singer Adele posted a video saying how much she loved what he had done for all of
us.Perry’s death also led to responses from outside the artistic world. Canada’s prime minister Justin
Trudeau thanked Matthew on X for ‘all the laughs’, adding he would be missed. Although born in
Massachusetts, Matthew was raised in Canada and studied with the country’s leader.

8
Fans also outside the actor’s house to say goodbye to him. One of them said it felt
9
unreal to know that he had gone at such a young age. As his character Chandler might
say: Could he BE more missed?

5 Pre-reading: vocabulary
Match the words to their definitions.

1. face (v) a. say you did something bad

2. script (n) b. end a relationship

3. difficulties (n) c. deal with a difficult situation

4. admit (v) d. a place you go for medical treatment

5. clinic (n) e. the text of a play or film

6. addiction (n) f. problems

7. break up with (phr.) g. when you can’t stop doing or using something

8. get engaged (phr.) h. promise you are going to marry someone

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"FRIENDS" STAR MATTHEW PERRY FOUND DEAD

6 Reading for gist

Read the article about Matthew Perry’s life. Match the paragraphs to the headings.

• His big break

• His difficulties
• Life before being famous
• His personal life
• Outside Friends

Matthew Perry: a great Friend

The actor behind Chandler from Friends faced many problems in his personal life but made millions
of people laugh.

A.

Matthew Perry was born on August 19, 1969 in Massachusetts, USA. His parents got divorced when he was still
a baby and he went to live in Canada with his mother. There, Matthew studied with Justin Trudeau, who is now
Canada’s prime minister. When he was 15, Matthew moved to LA, where he started his acting career. He made
several films, but none of them were very successful.

B.

Then came the sitcom Friends, which made Matthew very famous. When he read the script, he knew Chandler was
perfect for him because they were very similar. "It wasn’t that I thought I could play Chandler; I was Chandler.", he
later said. With his colleagues Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow,
he helped make Friends one of the most successful series ever.

C.

Friends was Perry’s biggest success, but it was not the only one. While playing Chandler, he acted in several films,
but none of them, however, were as successful as the sitcom. After Friends came to an end in 2004 after ten
seasons, he took part in other series like Studio 60 and The Odd Couple.

D.

Matthew had a number of problems with addiction and mental health throughout his life. In his autobiography
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, from 2022, he admitted using drugs and alcohol while recording Friends.
He also went to a clinic for treatment at least 15 times. Apart from the problems with addiction, he also felt he
had to be funny all the time.

E.

Matthew Perry was never married and had no children, but he had relationships with several famous actresses,
including Julia Roberts, whom he went out with for around a year. Also in his book, Matthew talks about how he
broke up with her because he felt he could ‘never be enough’ for her. In 2020, he got engaged to Molly Hurwitz,
but the couple broke up in 2021.

Sources: BBC, Biography

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"FRIENDS" STAR MATTHEW PERRY FOUND DEAD

7 Reading for details

Read the article again. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1. The Prime Minister of Canada knew Matthew Perry personally.

2. Matthew thought he was like Chandler.

3. Some of the films Matthew acted in were as popular as Friends.

4. Matthew thought that he always needed to make people laugh.

5. Julia Roberts broke up with Matthew because she thought he wasn’t enough for him.

8 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the questions below.

1. Who is your favourite Friend from the TV show? Why?

2. Do you like to read about the personal lives of celebrities?
3. Are old sitcoms better than the ones today? Why?
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a celebrity?
5. Why do you think celebrities have problems with addiction?
6. What would you do if you were a celebrity? What would you like to be famous for?

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"FRIENDS" STAR MATTHEW PERRY FOUND DEAD

9 Quiz
Answer the quiz about the Friends. How many did you get right?

1. What did Joey buy for Chandler because they’re best friends?

a. a sandwich b. a bracelet c. a monkey

2. Whose apartment has the famous picture frame hanging on the door?

a. Monica’s b. Chandler and Joey’s c. Ross’s

3. What is the name of Joey’s acting agent?

a. Susan b. Estelle c. Janice

4. Who was the youngest member of the Friends gang?

a. Rachel b. Joey c. Chandler

5. What is Phoebe’s twin sister’s name?

a. Emily b. Emma c. Ursula

6. Which character says the last ever line in the series?

a. Phoebe b. Rachel c. Chandler

10 Extension activity
How many words from the worksheet can you remember? Test yourself!

1. What F-word means to deal with a difficult situation? →

2. What S-word is the text of a play or film? →

3. What S-word is a type of funny TV program? →

4. What G-word means got together? →

5. What I-word means very famous? →

6. What C-word completes the phrase "around the ... " and means coming soon? →

7. What B-word completes the phrase "... up with" and means finish a relationship? →

8. What E-word completes the phrase "get ..." and means promise you marry someone? →

9. What D-word is another word for problems? →

10. What A-word is when you are unable to stop using or doing something? →

11. What C-word is a place where people can treat medical problems? →

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TEACHER MATERIALS · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

"FRIENDS" STAR MATTHEW PERRY FOUND DEAD

Transcripts

3. Breaking news: listening for gist

Reader: Comedian Matthew Perry was found dead in a bathtub in his Los Angeles home at age 54.
He had mental health issues, as well as problems with drugs, throughout most of his life
but he also had a brilliant acting career. His most famous character by far was Chandler
Bing from the 90s sitcom Friends.

Reader: Emotional responses to his death are all over social media. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow
remembered their time together in 1993, before he became world-famous. She said
Matthew was nervous because he had just filmed the pilot for Friends and it hadn’t been
shown on TV yet, but his big break was just around the corner.

Reader: Morgan Fairchild, who played Perry’s mother in Friends, posted: "The loss of such a
brilliant young actor is a shock." Singer Adele posted a video saying how much she loved
what he had done for all of us.

Reader: Perry’s death also led to responses from outside the artistic world. Canada’s prime
minister Justin Trudeau thanked Matthew on X for ‘all the laughs’, adding he would be
missed. Although born in Massachusetts, Matthew was raised in Canada and studied
with the country’s leader.

Reader: Fans also gathered outside the actor’s house to say goodbye to him. One of them said it
felt unreal to know that he had gone at such a young age. As his iconic character Chandler
might say: Could he BE more missed?

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TEACHER MATERIALS · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

"FRIENDS" STAR MATTHEW PERRY FOUND DEAD

Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
Elicit what students know about Matthew Perry, but avoid providing any information at this stage because they
will listen and read a lot about him. Ask students to complete the quotes from his famous character in Friends,
Chandler. Correct as a whole class, eliciting any other information the Friends fans might know about the quotes
(e.g. who he said to, in what context, etc).

1. d) jokes 2. b) door 3. a) before

4. f) eating 5. g) gym ≀ c) week 6. e) talking

uncomfortable: not feeling good or relaxed

knock-knock jokes: jokes that usually involve a back-and-forth exchange between the joke-teller and the audience.
Here’s an example:
Joke-teller: "Knock, knock."
Audience: "Who’s there?"
Joke-teller: "Lettuce."
Audience: "Lettuce who?"
Joke-teller: "Lettuce in, it’s cold out here!"
dumb: describing something as foolish or stupid
regret: to feel sorry about a past action or decision

Sources:
www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67257151
www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67254268
www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67253920
www.biography.com/actors/matthew-perry

2. Pre-listening: vocabulary

5 mins.
Ask students to complete the following words with the missing vowels. When correcting, drill the correct pronunciation
and ask them to use the words in different sentences.

1. comedian 2. mental health 3. issues

4. throughout 5. sitcom 6. pilot
7. around the corner 8. gather 9. iconic

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"FRIENDS" STAR MATTHEW PERRY FOUND DEAD

3. Breaking news: listening for gist

5 mins.
Students watch the video and put the topics mentioned in the correct order. Correct as a whole class.

The name of Matthew Perry’s most famous character.

An actress who was his friend before he was famous.

Someone who acted with him in Friends.

A politician posting a response to his death.

What his fans said.

A famous quote from Friends.

4. Breaking news: listening for details

5-8 mins.
Ask students to complete the extract with one word in each gap. They can rely on what they remember from
watching the video, as well as which words fits grammatically. They then watch again and check. After correcting,
you can use the extract to practise shadowing, i.e., play the extract one more time and students read out along
with the speaker (not afterwards).

1. e) Comedian 2. c) mental 3. a) throughout

4. i) sitcom 5. b) media 6. d) pilot
7. f) corner 8. h) gathered 9. g) iconic

5. Pre-reading: vocabulary

5 mins.
Ask students to look at the words and think about what they mean. They then match the words to the definitions.
When correcting, elicit examples of sentences using the words.

1. → c. 2. → e. 3. → f. 4. → a. 5. → d. 6. → g. 7. → b. 8. → h.

6. Reading for gist

10 mins.
Ask students to read the article and think about what each paragraph is about. They then read the heading and
fit them in the right place. Ask them to read the text again to check. Correct as a whole class.

A. Life before being famous

B. His big break
C. Outside Friends
D. His difficulties
E. His personal life

7. Reading for details

10 mins.
Ask students to read the article again and decide if the sentences are true or false. Correct as a whole class.

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"FRIENDS" STAR MATTHEW PERRY FOUND DEAD

1. True. They were school friends.

2. True. "...he knew Chandler was perfect for him because they were very similar."
3. False. "...none of them, however, were as successful as the sitcom."
4. True. "...he also felt he had to be funny all the time."
5. False. He broke up with her.

8. Talking point

10 mins.
Students discuss the questions in pairs. Elicit some ideas as a whole class.

9. Quiz

5 mins.
In pairs, students answer the questions. Encourage them to guess if they have no idea. Correct as a whole class,
eliciting any extra information they know about the topic, and at the end find out which pair answered most
questions correctly.

1. b. 2. a. 3. b. 4. a. 5. c. 6. c.

10. Extension activity

15 mins.
This task revises language from the worksheet. You might decide to ask students to put away the worksheet and
do it orally. It can also be done individually, in pairs or in small groups. Ideally, there should be an element of
competition. For example, it could be used for a running dictation, or you could have a point system (one point
for each correct word and an extra point if only one student/pair/group got it right).

1. face 2. script 3. sitcom 4. gathered

5. iconic 6. corner 7. break 8. engaged
9. difficulties 10. addiction 11. rehab

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