Michael J. Fox lauds late friend Matthew Perry for his comedic talents and generous nature: ‘He was the funniest’

Michael J. Fox has remembered late friend Matthew Perry for his talents as a comedic actor, as well as his generosity.

‘He was just a funny guy, and if I was ever as funny as him – I mean, he was the funniest,’ the 62-year-old actor said Saturday at the annual gala for his The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which seeks a cure to Parkinson’s disease. ‘He was a funny guy.’

Fox, speaking with Entertainment Tonight at New York City’s Casa Cipriani, said that he and the late Friends star – who was found dead at the age of 54 at his Los Angeles home October 28 – ‘had spent some time together over the years.’

The Back To The Future star said, ‘He was a hockey player, a good hockey player, and we played hockey together.’

Perry last year had lauded Fox as an role model for him during a Toronto Q&A in promotion of his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

‘I was young, I had done a couple of plays in school, and Michael J. Fox was it, man,’ Perry said of the actor. ‘When I was in ninth grade, Michael J. Fox had just done Back to the Future, and there was smoke coming out of my ears, I was so jealous of this guy.

‘And he had, at the time, the number one TV show and the number one at the same time! So he was huge.’

Fox, who also played the role of Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties, said on Saturday that he was ‘happy’ he ‘had an impact on’ Perry.

Fox told ET that he and Perry got acquainted with one another when he set up his foundation, noting that Perry ‘wrote a big fat check to the foundation’ after he and his Friends costars inked a lucrative deal with NBC in February of 2002, guaranteeing the six principal cast members $1 million per episode.

Fox said, ‘I hope this isn’t indiscreet… but when they first made their big sale and were made millionaires for the rest of their lives,’ Perry made the donation to the fledgling nonprofit.

Said Fox: ‘We were really early on and trying to find our feet. And it was such a vote of confidence. And it wasn’t accompanied by any self-aggrandizing or anything, he was just like, “Take it and do your best.”‘ 

The Back To The Future star was 29 in 1991 when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and went public with the information in 1998.  

In the autumn of 2000, he launched The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which ‘is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today.’

According to the foundation, it has raised more than $1.75 billion for the cause. 

Perry’s funeral was held November 3, with his family and Friends costars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer among those in attendance.

In a joint statement to People, the ensemble from the hit NBC series said they were ‘utterly devastated’ by Perry’s passing.

‘We were more than just cast mates,’ the cast said. ‘We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.

‘In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.’