Matthew Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison says his death is an 'assault on the brain' that stays with him 'every day'

Matthew Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison has said that the actor's death is an 'assault on the brain' that stays with him 'every day.' 

The beloved Friends actor tragically passed away in late October at age 54 after he was found unresponsive in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home from a ketamine overdose.

Perry's mother married the Dateline correspondent in 1981 and he has credited his stepfather with bringing his family back together after his parents rocky separation.

Morrison told Today's Hoda Kotb: 'It's as other people have told me hundreds of times. It doesn't go away yet. 

'It's with you every day. It's with you all the time. And there's some new aspect of it that assaults your brain, and it's not easy.' 

Matthew Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison has said that the actor's death is an 'assault on the brain' that stays with him 'every day'

Speaking to Today's Hoda Kotb, Morrison said, 'It's as other people have told me hundreds of times. It doesn't go away yet. It's with you every day. It's with you all the time. And there's some new aspect of it that assaults your brain, and it's not easy'

Perry's mother married the Dateline correspondent in 1981 and he has credited his stepfather with bringing his family back together after his parents rocky separation

Morrison told Kotb: 'It’s especially (not easy) for his mom. I don’t think I’m giving away too much if I say that toward the end of his life, they were closer than I had seen them for decades, and texting each other constantly and him sharing things with her that most middle-aged men don’t share with their mothers.' 

Matthew's father, an actor, model, and musician, 'abandoned' him and his mom before his firth birthday, leaving them to move to Los Angeles and focus on his career.

Suzanne Perry, his mom, a former pageant queen and journalist who went on to become the press secretary for the Canadian Prime Minister, was fiercely focused on her career, which meant Matthew was often left desperately longing for her 'attention.' 

While he had a very close bond with his parents as an adult, the star has been very honest about how he struggled to cope with his parents' divorce and how he was left feeling 'on the outside looking in' after his mom got remarried and welcomed his half-siblings. 

Perry battled addiction during the height of his fame, but has credited his parents' and 'beautiful' siblings' ability to 'never turn their back on him' with helping him to get through his darkest days. 

Morrison said: 'He was always the center of attention everywhere he went, that kind of personality. He was goofy. He was funny. He was acerbic. 

'But even if he didn’t say a word, he was the center of attention. And so yes, that’s gone, but you still feel the echo of it everywhere around here.

'I take him to hockey games on Saturday mornings, and he would always score all goals. And if he didn’t score all the goals, he was so angry all the way home and he wouldn’t talk to anybody. He was really mad.

'You take him to a tennis match, and he was a very good tennis player, but if he missed a shot a couple of times, his racket is on the ground, and he’d be stomping on it and trying to break (it) into pieces, he was so mad,' said the Dateline journalist.

Just days before his death, Matthew shared a rare photo of himself hanging out with his dad to Instagram

Morrison said Perry and his mother had a very close relationship later in the Friends star's life

Perry has credited his 'beautiful' siblings with helping him to get through his problems later in life

'And so he had that kind of very fiery personality. And mine is not like that, as you can imagine. But we got along fine. I never tried to replace his dad, but I was there for him, and he knew it. We were close.'

Morrison took to X to urge people to donate to the Matthew Perry Foundation in a heartfelt post following his tragic death.

He wrote: 'This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different. Do what you can; he would have been grateful.'

The late actor's loved ones established the Matthew Perry Foundation just days after his death.

The purpose of the charity is to help others suffering from addiction, by 'identifying addiction as a disease, addressing the complex of stigmas that prevents individuals from seeking and accessing care, and fiercely advocating for better and more equitable treatment.' 

Morrison said, 'It’s a whirlwind of a life to get involved in a program that became as wildly successful as it was to be fighting an addiction that was so virulent, that went after him so hard, and he gave into it frequently.

'He came to understand he’d get to a certain point, and then he knew he had to go and get treatment. And he’d accept help when he needed it. But as he said himself, it just kept happening, and it was it was a big bear. It was a tough thing to be — big, terrible thing.' 

Perry left more than $1million in a trust he established named after a famed Woody Allen film character. 

Per legal documents obtained by DailyMail.com, the late Friends star created a will in 2009 saying he wanted to leave 'a majority of his belongings to a trust.'

He created the trust named the Alvy Singer Living Trust - named after Allen's 1977 Annie Hall character.

The documents list the value of the star's personal property as a 'little over $1million' - this money is what his executors found as additional assets that are not already in his private trust.

The Friends alum left more than $1million in a trust he established named after a famed Woody Allen film character

Other trust beneficiaries listed are the star's father John Perry, mom Suzanne Morrison, half-sister Caitlin Morrison and ex Rachel Dunn (pictured)

Perry was worth an estimated $120million. The star who died without ever having children had made a distinction in his will that any kids he may have after 2009 were not 'explicitly entitled' to his fortune.

Lisa Ferguson and Mike Myers' ex-wife Robin Ruzan are listed as co-executors of the will - both Perry and Ruzan worked on game show Celebrity Liar in the 2010s.

Other trust beneficiaries listed are the star's father John Perry, mom Suzanne Morrison, half-sister Caitlin Morrison and ex Rachel Dunn.

Perry dated Dunn from 2003-2005. He signed the will on October 26, 2009.

The Chandler Bing actor - who starred on Friends from 1994-2004 - made a reported $20million a year in residuals from the show.

Perry's parents will likely take on his acting royalties as well as other parts of his estate which includes his 2022 memoir, according to Day Pitney trusts and estates partner Tasha Dickinson.