It lasted for ten seasons and the series finale attracted more than 50million viewers in the US alone.
But if the end of Friends in 2004 was a source of great sorrow for its fans all over the world, it seems that for the cast it was occasion for a dinner party.
And now never-before-seen photographs of the stars gathered at the intimate farewell meal marking the end of the show have emerged in a sale from Matthew Perry’s estate.
The actor, who spent a decade making millions laugh as the wisecracking Chandler Bing in Friends, died of a drugs overdose in 2023 aged 54.
More than 130 items from his estate will be auctioned next month to raise money for the Matthew Perry Foundation – a charity set up after his death to help those battling addiction.
The farewell meal photos are in a photo album titled The One With The Last Supper – a reference to the way episodes of Friends were named.
Believed to have been given to Perry by Jennifer Aniston after filming wrapped in 2004, the album contains photographs of the cast gathered around a dining table.
Tucked inside is a handwritten note signed: ‘Jenny.’ In one picture Perry snuggles up with co-star Courteney Cox. In another he appears deep in thought as David Schwimmer grins at the camera.
A photo of Matthew Perry (centre) next to David Schwimmer (left) and Courteney Cox (right)
The never-before-seen photograph of the stars gathered at an intimate farewell meal to mark the end of the show
Signed scripts of the first and last episodes of Friends are also on auction
A personal letter written by US actress Jennifer Aniston, fellow cast member of the TV show ‘Friends’, displayed at The Matthew Perry Estate Auction at Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills, California
The photo album given by US actress Jennifer Aniston to fellow Friends cast members Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox
Others at the table as well as the cast are David Crane and Marta Kauffman, the TV writing and producing duo who were the co-creators of Friends.
Among the other lots is a signed script from the Friends pilot episode featuring signatures from Perry and co-stars Ms Aniston, 57, Ms Cox, 61, Lisa Kudrow, 62, Matt LeBlanc, 58, and Schwimmer, 59.
The script has already attracted bids of $15,000 (£11,100). Another signed script from the two-part finale – The Last One – stands at $8,500 (£6,300) while a collection of Season Ten scripts – including The One With Ross’s Tan and The One Where Joey Speaks French – currently sits at $3,600 (£2,700).
Fans can also bid on Perry’s Motorola flip phone, his wallet and AmEx card and a navy Boss blazer.
A leather-bound copy of his memoir Friends, Lover And The Big Terrible Thing is also included in the sale, along with a 1995 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Roberta Kramer, of Heritage Auctions, said: ‘It’s a combination of all kinds of things. Things relating to his work on Friends and other shows and films, but a lot of very personal things too.’
In April Jasveen Sangha – known as the Ketamine Queen – admitted selling the ketamine that led to Perry’s death in a Jacuzzi at his home in Los Angeles and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
