It is after someone passes that everyone truly understands the kind of person they were. Matthew Perry’s untimely passing shook the entire world to its very core. It was as though everyone had a sudden realization of their mortality all at once. Anyone who had ever been in close proximity to him all of a sudden remembered just how saintly of a person he was, feeling the need to share an anecdote.
Michael J. Fox, best known for his work in the Back to the Future series, is among these celebrities. For many years, he has had a nonprofit organization for Parkinson’s research called the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The actor revealed that Perry seriously helped the organization in its early years.
Not only did the Friends actor donate a huge sum to the non-profit, he also did not want his name attached to it.
Matthew Perry Donated His First Big Check
Michael J. Fox gave an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where he revealed something that Matthew Perry did for the Michael J. Fox Foundation that completely changed the direction of his non-profit. When the actor got his first $1 million paycheck from Friends, he did not want to spend it on himself. Instead, he wanted to make an impact with his first big paycheck.
“I hope this isn’t indiscreet… but when they first made their big sale [on their Friends contracts] and were made millionaires for the rest of their lives, He wrote a big fat check to the foundation,” He went on, “And it wasn’t accompanied by any self-aggrandizing or anything, he was just like, ‘Take it and do your best,'” Fox said. “I loved that.”
Donating the entire figure to Fox’s organization, Perry truly impressed the Back to the Future actor. Not only because of the money he donated but because the Friends actor did not want to advertise this good deed. He wanted to do good for the sake of it. He did it because he had faith in Fox.
Matthew Perry Changed the Michael J. Fox Foundation Forever
It would seem that the one deposit that Matthew Perry made was very significant for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Fox revealed that the money they got from the actor was life-changing when they were starting out. They were trying to establish themselves, and getting a million dollars can certainly change a lot.
“We were really early on and trying to find our feet. And it was such a vote of confidence.”
On top of the financial support, the fact that one of Friends’ lead stars was willing to put such a huge amount of money into a non-profit that was starting, signified a lot. It was a way of telling others in the industry that Perry had faith in them, which also made others more inclined to donate.
It is safe to say that Matthew Perry was a very kind soul, even though his life was full of many trials.
