Former NBC president Warren Littlefield recalls ‘gifted’ Matthew Perry ‘saving’ 1996 upfronts
nypost.comfunnyman Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom “Friends,” used his quick wit and charm to woo a room of execs when things derailed during a presentation.“Due to an electrical failure, the presentation stopped,” Littlefield recalled in an article for Variety Wednesday. “Eventually, we learned that a curling iron overheated and short-circuited most of our power.”“I panicked.
But then, with that unbelievably great smile accompanied by his then quite famous wit and charm, out walked Matthew from backstage and proceeded to entertain the audience,” he added.Littlefield, who gave “Friends” the go-ahead during his stint as NBC president from 1991 to 1998, said that Perry subtly “winked” at him as to say, “I’ve got this boss.”“Forget our new fall programs, that was the most memorably entertaining part of the presentation,” he said of Perry, who was there to promote the second season of “Friends.” “No one asked Matthew to do that job — he just saw what was unfolding and jumped in.
That was Matthew.”Elsewhere, Littlefield said there was initial interest for Perry’s close pal Craig Bierko to be cast as Bing in the hit sitcom, so naturally — being the good guy that he was — Perry stepped aside and didn’t throw his hat in the ring.“Matthew stayed in the background because he didn’t want to compete with his friend,” Littlefield wrote.
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