Matthew Perry

A post or two back, I gave a partial list of comedians and comic actors who came from Canada.

Subsequently, I received an e-mail purportedly from Matthew Perry (of “Friends” fame) complaining that he was left out of the list.

I apologize Mr. Perry.  Yes, you were raised in Ottawa, Ontario . . . but you were born in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

You do, however, have dual citizenship, so you should have been included in the list.

It’s clear that your comedic talents were cultivated in Canada, so I was remiss in not including you.  I apologize.

To make up for my blunder, here is some interesting trivia concerning Mr. Perry:

• His mother, Suzanne Morrison, was the press agent for Pierre Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, during the seventies and eighties.
• He is the stepson of Keith Morrison, NBC newscaster.  (By the way, yours truly, Ethel the Frog, had the opportunity to meet both Keith Morrison and Pierre Trudeau as they walked down the halls of the University of Saskatchewan in about 1979 or 80).


Keith Morrison

• He asked that his name be removed from the Best Actor in a Comedy Emmy list. “Friends” co-stars had all agreed that they would only be nominated in supporting roles.
• He is missing part of his middle finger on his right hand, this is due to an unfortunate door-shutting accident in nursery school. Ouch!
• He used to be ranked nationally in junior tennis in Canada.  He has said in interviews that “he tried to play in the States but he wasn’t good enough”.
• He entered a rehabilitation clinic for treatment of “an undisclosed condition”.  (I bet it was maybe psoriasis, eczema, or dyspepsia).
• “Friends” castmate Jennifer Aniston offered to be his personal trainer after he received threats from Warner Brothers about his increasing weight problems.  (NOTE FROM BERT FEGG: Jennifer, I’m worried about my “increasing weight problems” . . . will you be my personal trainer?)
• Has appeared in the top 30 of Forbes Top 100 of the celebrity rich.  (Matthew . . . if you could spare a few colones, I sure could use it).
• His favorite NHL team is the Ottawa Senators.  He often attends the playoff games in Ottawa, Canada.  (I’m willing to overlook this character flaw).
• He enjoys playing ice hockey and softball in his spare time.  (Who doesn’t?)
• Auditioned for Chandler Bing on a Friday and started work on that Monday.
• Was the Ottawa Loggers 10th selection in the 1996 RHI (Roller Hockey International) draft.  (This is probably the trivia fact that impresses me most about the man.  I attended many RHI games, as a fan of the Phoenix Cobras, and it was not a game for sissies).  (NOTE FROM BERT FEGG: I was a professional roller hockey player in Arizona (no joke) and was asked to play for a team in a new league (that didn’t ever get off the ground). I turned them down, as I placed some value on my life, and knew that I would end up either dead or in the hospital with multiple contusions, broken bones, and a concusion in just the first few minutes of play of the first game of the season.  It is a barbaric sport.  Even the “no contact” recreational league that I played in had it’s share of lost teeth, broken bones, and stitch-worthy wounds every game . . . but it was great fun!)
• He is a Toronto Blue Jays Fan.  (Okay, the Ottawa Senators I can understand . . . Daniel Alfredson, et al. . . but, the Blue Jays didn’t even win half of their games last season, and were second from the basement in the American League East (ahead of only the pathetic Baltimore Oreo Cookies).  I guess if you’re Canadian, you don’t have much choice when it comes to baseball teams to root for.
• His most famous personal quote is: “I learned to fall down early in life – I was like six – because I realized it was a way to make girls laugh.”  (I guess it doesn’t take much to make Ottawa girls laugh).
• 

  John Bennett Perry

  He’s the son of John Bennett Perry, whom I’ve never heard of, but whose been on a ton of TV shows and movies (Murder She Wrote, Friends, JAG, Little House on the Prairie, Falcon Crest, L.A. Law, Coach, Fools Rush In, Independence Day, George of the Jungle, The West Wing, etc., etc.)

• His date of birth is August 16, 1969, and his birth name is Matthew Langford Perry.
• At the age of 15, he move to Los Angeles to live with his father (see above).
• He was the youngest cast member of ”Friends“.
• He is purportedly a devout follower of Feggism (this is unverified).