Manhattan apartment building becomes makeshift vigil for late ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry

Waves of people gathered outside a Manhattan apartment building on Sunday to pay respects to the late Matthew Perry, the actor who portrayed Chandler Bing on “Friends.”

The corner of Bedford and Grove streets in Greenwich Village became a makeshift vigil for Perry, who was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Saturday. He was 54 years old.

“It’s a sobering moment — it’s very, very sad, but what he meant and what he showed through his character as Chandler Bing, and throughout his life, meant a lot,” said Sebastian Vandersper, a student from NYU, who visited the vigil on Sunday.

Chandler — and the rest of the main cast of characters on the popular ‘90s sitcom surrounding the lives of twenty-somethings living in the city — spent their time at the apartment building depicted at 90 Bedford St. Despite taking place in New York City, most of the filming of “Friends” took place in Los Angeles, though footage of the Greenwich Village building’s exterior can be seen on the show.

“I have a lot of friends who are deeply connected to the show — we all took a lot of comfort in it,” said Bella Margreiter, a longtime fan of the show, adding that her parents were watching the series finale when her mother went into labor.

Margreiter, who lives in London, said the show “is a reason why a lot of people move to New York,” adding that it shaped how people abroad view the city.

Following the news of Perry’s sudden death over the weekend, fans of the TV show headed to the popular tourist spot to leave flowers, messages and reflect on the actor’s legacy. By late afternoon, dozens of bouquets were left on the street along with a cardboard sign reading, “The One Where We All Lost A Friend” — a nod to the show’s episode title format.

Perry was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home on Saturday. An investigation into the cause of death is currently underway, though the local authorities told the Los Angeles Times that there are no suspicions of foul play.

“You think about ‘Friends,’ you think about New York and when you think about New York, you think about ‘Friends,’” said Achille Truchot, who moved to the city a year ago from Paris, France, adding that he’s rewatched the series four times over the past five years. “‘Friends’ is, for me. the number-one TV show ever created.”