Entertainment

Since the news broke that Matthew Perry had passed away on October 28 at age 54, social media has been flooded with tributes to him.

Ranker, the website that lets people up- or down-vote pretty much everything, has devoted a lot of space to Friends‘ fandom, and Perry and his Chandler Bing were already well represented in its findings.

With 1.2 million votes, Friends was declared the #1 sitcom in TV history, and Chandler himself ranked #1 on the listing of The Best Characters on Friends.

Chandler ranked just below The Office‘s Michael Scott in the ranking of the Funniest TV Characters of All Time, placing second — and he placed eighth on the Greatest TV Characters of All Time list, beating competition like The Walking Dead‘s Daryl Dixon (#13) and Game of Thrones‘ Jon Snow (#25).

Further, Chandler ranked in the top spot for Best TV Characters of the 1990s. And back when quarantining was a thing, more than 3,000 people said they’d like to spend their time with Chandler Bing, hoarding toilet paper or washing their groceries, or doing whatever else they did in the lockdown times.

Matthew Perry also ranked #32, ahead of Jesse Plemons (#40) and Danny McBride (#56), as the Greatest Actors Who Have Never Won An Emmy (For Acting).

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In an upcoming interview on The Graham Norton Show, Arnold Schwarzenegger recalls saying no to the naysayers about his dreams of being a world-famous bodybuilder, and then an actor.

“You can imagine when you have big dreams, people say, ‘This guy is crazy.’ Even my parents thought that I was kind of out of my mind, right?” the Terminator icon says.

He continues, “When I said I wanted to be a bodybuilding champion, they said, ‘Well, we understand if you want to be a ski champion, we’re in Austria. … bodybuilding is an American sport,'” Arnold said, cracking up the studio audience and his fellow guests, including Judi Dench.

He added, “Then when I wanted to go into acting, it was the same thing. They said, ‘It will never happen.'” He recalled being told no one with a German accent had ever become an international leading man in movies.

Schwarzenegger said he was told, “‘Plus, your body: look at you. You weigh 250 pounds.’ I mean, this is now the ’70s … now it’s Dustin Hofffman, and Al Pacino and Woody Allen: Those are the sex symbols of the ’70s.”

He added, “‘And the name: Shwarzenschnitzel,’ whatever they said to me, ‘that’s too long of a name, no one will be able to pronounce that.'”

“I didn’t listen to the naysayers,” Arnold said, adding he saw himself becoming an action star like Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson. He was told, “‘You will never be able to climb that ladder.'” So, Arnold said, he told them he’d make his own ladder.

The interview airs on BBC America on Thursday, November 2, at 11 p.m. ET; The Graham Norton Show also streams Fridays on AMC+ and Acorn TV.

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AMC is going deep with Natuilus, a live-action series inspired by Jules Verne’s beloved book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

The 10-episode series, which was produced by ABC’s parent company Disney, “tells the origin story of the iconic Captain Nemo: an Indian Prince robbed of his birthright and family, a prisoner of the East India Mercantile Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces that have taken everything from him.”

The show stars Shazad Latif as the captain, as well as Georgia Flood, Thierry Fremont and Céline Menville, with guest appearances from Richard E. Grant, Anna Torv and Noah Taylor.

In a statement, Ben Davis, executive vice president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, called the project “a big, sweeping drama that is sure to appeal to fans of our Anne Rice Immortal Universe and other buzzy and fan-forward series like Orphan Black: Echoes.” He adds that the “special television event” will set sail next year.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Retired tennis pro Pete Sampras has gone public with news that his wife, former Mortal Kombat star Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, has been battling ovarian cancer.

Noting he’s normally “a pretty quiet and private person,” he explained he wanted to inspire others to reach out if they need support.

Calling the past year an “exceptionally challenging time for my family,” Sampras recalled that his wife, 50, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last December. “Since then, she has had major surgery, pushed through chemotherapy and continues with targeted maintenance therapy,” the tennis legend said.

“It is hard to watch someone you love go through a challenge like this,” he continued. “However, seeing our boys step up and be such strong supporters of Bridgette, myself and each other has been amazing.”

He added, “Watching Bridgette continue to be an incredible mom and wife through it all has been inspiring.”

The couple have two sons, Christian, nearly 21, and Ryan, 18.

Sampras noted that through this experience, “I have also learned that it is very hard to reach out for support when something is simply too hard to talk about.”

He concluded, “I will end this by humbly asking for good thoughts and prayers for our family as Bridgette continues to thrive on her healing journey.”

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Greta Gerwig has revealed that another one-name icon, Rocky, inspired her hit Barbie.

At a special screening of her blockbuster at the DGA Theater Complex in West Hollywood, Gerwig spilled that Ryan Gosling took the fashion inspo for his Ken — specifically his famous shirt-free faux fur look — from Sylvester Stallone.

“Ryan Gosling also loves Sylvester Stallone,” Gerwig said, according to People. “We had so long to think about it and talk about it, and he and I really did. His faux mink came from Sylvester Stallone’s amazing outfits.”

Stallone rocked white fur coats in the 1970s and 1980s during the height of his Rocky heyday.

Gerwig continued, “When I think of adorned men, I think he’s probably the best one. And I feel like Ken was nothing if not a man in search of adornment. “

She added of collaborating with Gosling, “So that was a really key moment where we were like … it’s Sly. And we talked about specific moments we really loved in his films.”

Apparently, Stallone got in touch with the filmmaker after the movie premiered. “He was into it, which I was very honored,” Gerwig beamed.

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Co-stars, admirers, colleagues and friends of Matthew Perry began sharing their tributes on social media platforms shortly after news of the 54-year-old’s death broke over the weekend.

A lengthy statement came from “shocked and deeply, deeply saddened” Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane and executive producer Kevin Bright.

Calling Perry “brilliant” and “always the funniest person in the room,” they tipped a hat to the episode titles of every Friends show with, “This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.”

Actor and longtime friend Hank Azaria, reflected on his friendship with Perry, via video posted on his Instagram, sharing, Perry was “the first friend I made in Los Angeles,” when he moved there at the age of 21.

Praising Perry as “the funniest man ever,” the Simpsons actor said they were “more like brothers for a long time.”

Maggie Wheeler, who played Janice on Friends, wrote on Instagram, “What a loss,” expressing, “I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”

Morgan Fairchild, who played Chandler’s mom on Friends, wrote, “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my ‘son’, Matthew Perry. The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock.”

Alongside a photo from her appearance on Friends, Brooke Shields wrote on Instagram, “Really struggling to find the words. You were so loved, Matthew. I loved you dearly. Thank you for the belly laughs. You brought joy to so many. We already miss you.”

Perry’s former co-star in The Odd Couple, Yvette Nicole Brown, posted a throwback picture of herself with Perry and the cast members while on set, writing in part, “I am too sad about the news to say more than this: @mattyperry4 was a sweetheart who deserved more peace in this life. 54 is too young to go.”

On Instagram, Gwyneth Paltrow noted she first met Perry in 1993, adding, “[h]e was so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with. I am super sad today, as so many of us are. I hope Matthew is at peace at long last. I really do.”

Selma Blair called Perry “My oldest boy friend,” adding, “I loved him unconditionally. And he me. And I’m broken. Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty. Sweet dreams.”

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Nick at Nite will honor the life and career of actor Matthew Perry with the special Matthew Perry: Thanks for Being a Friend on Sunday, October 29, according to Variety. The tribute special will feature never-before-seen interviews with Perry, behind-the-scenes moments from the Friends set and highlights of Perry on the hit NBC sitcom. Following the conclusion of the special, Nick at Nite will air fan-favorite episodes of Friends featuring Perry, which will continue all next week through Sunday, November 5. Perry died in his Pacific Palisades home Saturday, October 28, per law enforcement sources who spoke to ABC News. He was 54…

Timothée Chalamet will host the November 11 episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live with Boygenius, the indie supergroup comprised of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, as the musical guest. Chalamet will next be seen in the movie Wonka, opening December 8. His other upcoming theatrical release, Dune 2, originally slated for a November 3 release, is moving to March 2024 due of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes…

Richard Moll, the actor best known for playing the imposing but kindhearted bailiff “Bull” Shannon on the NBC sitcom Night Court, died “peacefully” Thursday at his home in Big Bear Lake, California, a representative for Moll tells Entertainment Weekly He was 80. Moll’s other TV appearances included Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Welcome Back, Kotter, The Rockford Files, Babylon 5, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, 7th Heaven, Smallville, Cold Case. On film, he played an abominable snowman opposite Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach in 1981’s Caveman, along with roles in But I’m a Cheerleader, The Flintsones, Jingle All the Way and Scary Movie 2…

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Five Nights at Freddy‘s, the movie adaptation of the hit horror game, topped the domestic box office with an estimated 78 million — the biggest opening weekend for a horror title in 2023 and the second biggest for a movie based on a video game behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s $146.3 million. The film, starring Hunger Games vet Josh Hutcherson, pulled in an additional $52.6 million overseas, for a global haul of $130.6 million.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film took second place, grabbing an estimated $14 million at the North American box office, for a three-week total of $149.3 million. Worldwide, the film — which only plays on weekends — has racked up $203 million.

Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon — starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, and Jesse Plemons — added an estimated $9 million at the domestic box office, for a two-week total of $40 million. The film has collected $88 million globally.

The faith-based documentary After Death, which explores the subject of life after death, opened with an estimated $5 million at the domestic box office.

Rounding out the top five was The Exorcist: Believer, delivering an estimated $3.1 million, for a four-week total of $59.3 million in North America and $61 million worldwide.

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Friends star Matthew Perry died in his Pacific Palisades home Saturday afternoon, per law enforcement sources who spoke to ABC News. He was 54.

According to the LAPD, a call was received at 4:07 p.m. PT for a male in his 50’s who was unresponsive. The LAFD says after arriving on scene no ambulance transfer was required for a call to that street.

Los Angeles police said they are conducting a death investigation. There were no signs of foul play on scene, according to law enforcement sources. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner will determine cause of death.

The actor was known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit ensemble sitcom Friends, which ran from 1994 to 2004.

Perry also starred in the TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and was the co-creator and star of the sitcom Mr. Sunshine. His film career included the movies Fools Rush In, Almost Heroes and 17 Again.

He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best actor in a miniseries or motion picture made for television for his portrayal of the titular educator in the 2006 TV film The Ron Clark Story.

Perry — the son of actor, singer, and model John Bennett Perry and Suzanne Langford, a press secretary for former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau — moved from Ottawa to Los Angeles as a teenager.

After graduating high school, he began booking roles on TV shows such as Growing Pains and 90210 before being cast at the age of 24 on Friends as the sarcastic, neurotic Chandler — skyrocketing to stardom.

In Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, a memoir published last year, Perry opened up about battling and overcoming years of drug and alcohol abuse behind the scenes.

In a 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer last year, Perry estimated that he went through detox 65 times and went to rehab 15 times and recounted nearly dying after he was hospitalized for a perforated bowel in 2018.

He said he made it his goal to help others who are struggling.

“Obviously, because I was on Friends, more people will listen to me. So I’ve got to take advantage of that, and I’ve got to help as many people as I can,” Perry said.

The Friends official Instagram account posted a tribute to Perry Saturday night, writing, “We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing. He was a true gift to us all. Our heart goes out to his family, loved ones, and all of his fans.”

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Disney has unveiled a first look at Rachel Zegler as Snow White in the forthcoming live-action musical movie.

Along with the new image came a new release date: March 21, 2025.

The first-look photo shows the West Side Story actress in the iconic costume made famous by Disney’s classic 1937 animated film as she is surrounded by Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy in a picturesque cottage.

According to a synopsis from Disney, the film “invites audiences back into the magical world of Snow White with beloved songs and recognizable characters.”

Zegler previously called her casting as Snow White “a dream come true.”

The film, which is directed by Marc Webb and includes original songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, also stars Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.

Snow White will release in theaters March 21, 2025.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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