Matthew Perry memorabilia to be auctioned for charity

From artwork by Banksy to scripts from the smash TV series "Friends," dozens of Matthew Perry's personal belongings are up for auction in the United States.

Perry, who played the neurotic and sarcastic Chandler Bing, died in 2023 at the age of 54 after decades of battling addictions.

Now, the executors of his estate have put some 130 lots up for auction, including his favourite watch and childhood mementoes, to raise money for the Matthew Perry Foundation, an organisation dedicated to helping people with addiction.

"It's a combination of all kinds of things from the actor's lifetime," said Roberta Kramer, of Heritage Auctions, who is handling the sale.

"Things relating to his work on 'Friends' and other television shows and films, but a lot of very personal things too, from all the way from childhood to adulthood."

Items include Perry's treasured Memorigin watch with a Batman emblem, as well as artwork he collected during his lifetime, including "Girl with Balloon" and "Nola," by street artist Banksy, which are expected to fetch around $1 million.

There are also a number of scripts from the decade of "Friends," a series about six young people navigating adulthood, relationships and careers in New York that made Perry and his co-stars multi-millionaires and household names.

Kramer said Perry started the foundation with the aim of using his "celebrity and his experience in life with substance abuse to help other people."

"We know that he would be happy that all of his things went to help the mission of the foundation."

Six people have been convicted in connection with Perry's ketamine overdose death.

Five of them have already been sentenced, including a woman dubbed the "Ketamine Queen" who styled herself as a dealer to the stars. A sixth person is expected to be sentenced next week.

The auction will take place in Dallas and online on 5 June.