Matthew Perry's Family Speaks, Plus: His 1st Acting Job with Dad John Bennett Perry

In the wake of the shocking death of Matthew Perry, his family is speaking out to People magazine.

In an exclusive statement, his family said, "We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother."

"Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend," they went on.

Directly addressing his many admirers, they concluded with, "You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love."

Perry's mom, Suzanne Langford, and his dad, actor John Bennett Perry, divorced when he was an infant. His mom married future "Dateline NBC" reporter Keith Ellison, and his dad married Debbie Boyle.

Perry's first acting gig was a couple of lines on his dad's series "240-Robert," which co-starred Joanna Cassidy and Mark Harmon.

In that scene, filmed when Perry was 9 and aired just after he'd turned 10, Perry's character asks a man administering first aid, "Are you a doctor?" Told that he's a paramedic, young Perry asks, "What's a paramedic?"

The paramedic was played by Bennett Perry.

They worked together several other times, including playing father and son on an episode of "Scrubs" in 2004 (that Matthew directed) and in Matt's 1997 feature film "Fools Rush In."

Bennett Perry appeared on "Friends" once, playing the father of one of Rachel's boyfriends.

The Perrys also worked together on co-producing the play "The Whole Banana" in West Hollywood in 2003 and its 2013 film adaptation.

One of their mutual projects was something Matthew referred to as "one of the best moments I've ever had" — it was the one with Matt and John posing as sexiest father and son for People's 2003 Sexiest Man Alive issue!

TMZ was first to break the news of Perry's death.