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Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer Share Matthew Perry Tributes

Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer are the latest Friends cast members to pay tribute to Matthew Perry, who died on Oct. 28 at age 54. Aniston shared via Instagram a behind-the-scenes photo…

Jennifer Aniston posing for a photo on the red carpet, Matthew Perry speaking at an event; David Schwimmer posing for a photo on a red carpet.
Frazer Harrison, Kevin Winter, Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer are the latest Friends cast members to pay tribute to Matthew Perry, who died on Oct. 28 at age 54.

Aniston shared via Instagram a behind-the-scenes photo of her and Perry having a laugh. It was followed by a screenshot of a text exchange between her and Perry. At one point, Perry had sent her the same behind-the-scenes photo along with the text, "Making you laugh just made my day. It made my day." Aniston replied, "Awww the first of THOUSANDS of times..." The final piece of media Aniston shared was a clip from Friends of Chandler saying goodbye to Rachel.

Aniston had a lengthy caption for this series of images/video. It began, "Oh boy, this one has cut deep... Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before. We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply."

She continued, "He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be. For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn't hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard."

Aniston added, "In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying, then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. I found one text that he sent me out of nowhere one day. It says it all. (See the second slide…)"

She concluded, "Matty, I love you so much, and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying 'could you BE any crazier?' Rest little brother. You always made my day…"

Schwimmer's Instagram tribute featured a photo of him and Perry during a Thanksgiving flashback episode of Friends where Ross and Chandler were dressed in Miami Vice-style suits.

He captioned the photo, "Matty, Thank you for ten incredible years of laughter and creativity. I will never forget your impeccable comic timing and delivery. You could take a straight line of dialogue and bend it to your will, resulting in something so entirely original and unexpectedly funny it still astonishes."

Schwimmer continued, "And you had heart. Which you were generous with, and shared with us, so we could create a family out of six strangers. This photo is from one of my favorite moments with you. Now, it makes me smile and grieve at the same time."

He concluded, "I imagine you up there, somewhere, in the same white suit, hands in your pockets, looking around— 'Could there BE any more clouds?'"

Friends remains one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons ever. Among the show's most beloved episodes are its Thanksgiving episodes.

So, what better time than now to rank these ten Friends episodes? If you're checking this out after Thanksgiving, just make a sandwich with a "moist maker" and enjoy!

10. The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs (Season 7, Episode 8)

Compared to the other Thanksgiving episodes, "The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs" just doesn't measure up, but that doesn't mean there aren't some great moments. Seeing Ross frustrated by Chandler's 50 states game is super funny, and learning Chandler doesn't like dogs is one of his more ridiculous quirks. Side note: Clunkers is an adorable name for a dog.

9. The One With the List (Season 2, Episode 8)

Following his magical first kiss with Rachel after her drunken "I am over you" phone call, Ross has to figure out whether or not to break up with his girlfriend, Julie. How does he figure that out? By making a pro/con list with Chandler which hits the fan as soon as Rachel sees it. Meanwhile, Monica gets a job at a firm and is tasked with coming up with Thanksgiving recipes for their new product, Mockolate, a chocolate substitute. A great episode, but it just lacks that Thanksgiving zest other episodes have. However, it does have Michael McKean guest-starring as Monica's new boss and Phoebe's song "Two of Them Kissed Last Night."

8.  The One With Rachel’s Other Sister (Season 9, Episode 8)

Rachel's sister, Amy (Christina Applegate), unexpectantly shows up and is rude to everyone. (Applegate won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance.) Joey forgets to show up to appear on a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with his fellow Days of Our Lives castmates. Monica is freaking out over using her wedding china during Thanksgiving dinner. There's also drama around who would raise newly born Emma if both Ross and Rachel died. Basically, this episode is more stuffed with Thanksgiving hijinks than any turkey.

7. The One Where Underdog Gets Away (Season 1, Episode 9)

You never forget your first, and "The One Where Underdog Gets Away" helped set the bar for Friends Thanksgiving episodes to come. A series of random events lead to the gang spending the holiday together. (However, Joey's reason involving becoming the poster boy for V.D. after a modeling gig gone wrong is the funniest.) We also learn Chandler's disdain for the holiday stems from his parents announcing they were divorcing on Thanksgiving when he was a young boy. As a result, he doesn't eat any traditional Thanksgiving food and opts for a feast of tomato soup, grilled cheese, and a large bag of Funyuns. That feast saves the day after dinner is ruined because everyone is locked out of Monica and Rachel's apartment due to checking out the Underdog balloon that escaped from the Macy's Thanksgiving parade.

6. The One With Chandler in a Box (Season 4, Episode 8)

How do you win a friend back after kissing his girlfriend? You do some serious thinking inside a box, or at least that's how Joey and Chandler attempt to resolve their issues. Monica provides some hilariously awkward moments trying to get involved with the son of her ex-boyfriend/ophthalmologist, Richard, after a fateful eye injury. We also learn Rachel always exchanges gifts she receives, which puts a wrench in the group determining their "Secret Santa" gift exchange. Plenty of great character moments in this Thanksgiving episode, especially from Chandler who still manages to bring the funny even though he's hanging out in a box.

5. The One With the Late Thanksgiving (Season 10, Episode 8)

Monica doesn't want to host Thanksgiving this year, but she is convinced into doing so by the rest of the group. How do they repay her? By being late, which is a massive Monica no-no. Joey and Ross were at a New York Rangers game, while Phoebe and Rachel were entering Emma in a baby beauty pageant. However, after plenty of arguing, Monica gets over everyone's tardiness when she and Chandler, who are unable to conceive, receive a phone call from an adoption agency informing them they were getting a baby. A wonderful, feel-good ending to the final Friends Thanksgiving episode.

4. The One With the Football (Season 3, Episode 9)

Monica and Ross' sibling rivalry is the centerpiece to this hilarious Thanksgiving episode that sees the group playing a game of three-on-three touch football. The Gellers used to play a football game every Thanksgiving, appropriately called "The Geller Bowl," and the winner would get "The Geller Cup," which was a Troll doll nailed to a piece of wood. After a violent "Geller Bowl 6," Monica and Ross' dad threw "The Geller Cup" in a nearby lake, and they weren't allowed to play football ever again. Monica would later reveal she fished the trophy out of the lake and has been holding onto it for years, and it becomes the prize during the three-on-three game. Add to this madness Chandler and Joey attempting to win the same girl, and the entire episode is a prime example of why Friends was so popular.

3. The One Where Ross Got High (Season 6, Episode 9)

Chandler and Monica, who just moved in together, are hosting Thanksgiving, and Judy and Jack Geller are coming over, but they don't care for Chandler and don't know he's moved in. Rachel, meanwhile, is tasked with making Thanksgiving dessert, but the pages for the recipe get stuck together in the magazine she's referencing, and she ends up making an English trifle that also has shepherd's pie ingredients. The episode culminates in an epic confession of various secrets that stun Judy and Jack, but they help them to final like Chandler. It's basically a Thanksgiving trainwreck/miracle.

2. The One With the Rumor (Season 8, Episode 9)

Brad Pitt plays Will Colbert, a high school friend of Monica's, who also struggled with his weight, that's in New York City on business. After running into him and learning he's away from home on Thanksgiving, she invites the now-thin Will to dinner. Will didn't realize Rachel, who he hated in high school, was going to be there. Obviously, wackiness ensues including the reveal that Will started a rumor in high school that Rachel was intersex. This episode is easily one of the most publicized episodes in Friends history thanks to the appearance by Pitt, who was married to Jennifer Aniston at the time. Oh, and Joey's Thanksgiving pants are classic!

1. The One With All the Thanksgivings (Season 5, Episode 8)

"The One With All the Thanksgivings" is the definitive Friends Thanksgiving episode. The flashbacks, even the ones of Phoebe's past lives, provide important backstory for the characters. We find out that a rude comment Chandler made about Monica's weight during Thanksgiving 1987 was the reason why she lost so much weight, and that same comment is also the reason why Monica accidentally cut off Chandler's toe during Thanksgiving 1988. At this point, Monica and Chandler, as a couple, is still very new and only Joey knows about them. Chandler doesn't take the stories well, however, Monica makes it up to him by sticking her head inside a turkey (a reference to a flashback of Joey getting his head stuck in a turkey), and Chandler tells Monica he loves her for the first time, thus, sending us slowly down the road of one of the most important relationships in the entire series.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights