Matthew Perry‘s dying has put a renewed give attention to the dynamic of his previous costars — and one anecdote about David Schwimmer is resurfacing … bearing on his one-for-all spirit.
The Guardian dug up this candy story in Perry’s memoir from final yr — ‘Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing’ — through which the late actor recounts how cash began to vary on the set of ‘Friends’ whereas they had been filming again within the ’90s.
In his e-book, MP says all the celebrities had been making about $22,000 an episode for Season 1 — however by Season 2, Dave and Jennifer Aniston had begun incomes a bit extra … on account of their reputation on the present because of the complete Ross/Rachel romance story line.
When Season 3 rolled round, WB needed to throw much more money on the 2 of ’em — as they had been now fan faves — however Schwimmer put his foot down on behalf of his castmates. Apparently, Dave floated the concept of them collectively bargaining collectively … so everybody might make the identical amount of cash, even when it meant a pay reduce for him and Jen.
Matt says that is precisely what finally occurred, writing … “David had certainly been in a position to go for the most money, and he didn’t. I would like to think that I would have made the same move, but as a greedy 25-year-old, I’m not sure I would have.”
He provides, “But his decision served to make us take care of each other through what turned out to be a myriad of stressful network negotiations, and it gave us a tremendous amount of power … We had David’s goodness, and his astute business sense, to thank for what we had been offered. I owe you about $30m, David.”
By Season 8, MP revealed that every of the ‘Friends’ actors had been making about one million bucks an episode … and he credit Schwimmer with establishing that precedent early. Apparently, they continued to hammer out wage negotiations as a gaggle through the years.
This story, which technically got here out final yr, is making the rounds proper now … and simply speaks to how shut the ‘Friends’ actually had been on set — including to the devastation of Perry’s sudden loss. TMZ broke the story … he was discovered lifeless final weekend at his L.A. dwelling.
As we reported … the solid attended a small, non-public funeral for Perry Friday close to the Hollywood Hills — as did Perry’s household and family members, together with his dad and mom.
Schwimmer, Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow all launched a joint assertion addressing Perry’s passing … saying the tragedy was “unfathomable” and that they had been nonetheless processing it as a gaggle. They’ve laid comparatively low within the days since.
Fans of Perry and “Friends” at giant are nonetheless reeling … and for good cause. His dying was stunning, and stays a thriller at this level. An investigation is at present underway.
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