New revelations about the production of popular sitcom ‘Friends’ convey how late actor Matthew Perry killed a storyline about his character Chandler cheating on Monica as fans “would have never forgiven” him, according to a report in TMZ this week.
The claims were made by actor Lisa Cash, who appeared on ‘Friends’ season 5 in 1999 as a flight attendant who encounters Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) in the episode ‘The One in Vegas: Part 1’.
In an interview with TMZ, Cash revealed that her role on the episode originated as a hotel worker who Chandler (Matthew Perry) cheats on Monica (Courteney Cox) with after an argument over Monica having lunch with ex-flame Richard (Tom Selleck).
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“I came in as a guest star and I was super excited,” Cash was quoted as saying by TMZ.
“The scene was Chandler and Monica arguing in Vegas about having lunch with Richard. Initially in our script, Chandler goes up to the hotel room, orders room service and I bring it up [to him] as a hotel worker. We end up talking and laughing and connecting and Chandler ends up cheating on Monica with my character.
“The day before we were shooting in front of a live audience, I was told that Perry went to the writers and said the audience would never forgive him for cheating on Monica. He was probably right,” she added.
“That would’ve changed possibly the course of the show and his character.”
Cash was then recast as a flight attendant in a scene with Schwimmer and Aniston.
“He was so likable and welcoming and just made me feel at ease. I had so much fun. It was so much fun doing the scene with him,” she was further quoted as saying by TMZ.
Last month, Perry was found dead of an apparent drowning at his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
He was best known for his longtime role as Chandler in the hugely successful ‘Friends,’ which ran for 10 seasons on the NBC network from 1994 to 2004, co-starring Aniston, Cox, Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow.
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One of the major story lines involved a clandestine romance between Chandler and Monica Geller, the character played by Cox, which the four other friends - Rachel, Joey, Phoebe and Ross - each discovered one by one.
The two characters eventually marry.
The entire group came back together 17 years after the series finale for a reunion special that aired on HBO Max in 2021.