The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on Sunday released its first report on actor Matthew Perry, who died aged 54 on Saturday. The report suggested that the autopsy of the star of the famous sitcom “Friends” had been completed, but the medical examiner needed “additional investigation” into the death.

The medical examiner updated its online record for Mr Perry and listed his cause of death as “deferred”.

According to the Los Angeles coroner’s guidelines, in cases where the cause of death cannot be determined at the time of autopsy, a “deferred” certificate is issued until additional studies have been completed.

The medical examiner’s online records also indicated that the actor’s remains were ready to be released to his family.

‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry died of possible drowning

Actor Matthew Perry died on Saturday after apparently drowning in a hot tub.

The American-Canadian performer was reportedly found unconscious in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles residence.

Matthew Perry was best known for his portrayal of Chandler in the internationally successful “Friends”, which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. The American television sitcom also co-starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Lisa Kudrow.

Mr Perry battled for years with addiction to painkillers and alcohol, and attended rehabilitation clinics on multiple occasions, which he detailed in his memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing”.

“I should be dead,” Matthew Perry wrote in the prologue of his memoir that was published in 2022.

He dedicated the book to “all of the sufferers out there” and talked about drug abuse and alcoholism. He also described going through detox dozens of times and spending millions of dollars in repeated attempts to get sober.