Hollywood Week: Matthew Perry Investigation Leads to Arrests, Carol Burnett, Deadpool & Wolverine, Gena Rowlands

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Saturday, 17 August 2024 10:20

Written by Janet Walker

Two doctors, and three others, have been charged in connection with their roles in the death of Matthew Perry, the beloved star of the sitcom, "Friends," who was found dead in his jacuzzi, in October 28, 2023.

Matthew Perry Investigation

The investigation into Matthew Perry's death, which the Los Angeles Coroner ruled was due to the acute and high-level effects of Ketamine in the star's system, which was said to be equivalent to the amount of a "general anesthesia," has netted to date, five individuals, include two doctors, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, and Dr. Mark Chavez, Perry's personal Live-in Assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, Erik Fleming, a film director and drug mule middleman, and Javeen Sangha, also known as the Ketamine Queen.

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After a six-month investigation, United States Attorney for the Central District of California, Martin Estrada, stated Perry had relapsed, and "These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves."

Celebrity addiction is big business. The evidence in Matthew Perry's death, and the disregard of professional ethics, was shockingly clear during email exchanges between Plasencia and Chavez, both of whom were looking for a "payday," when according to The New York Times, "Dr. Plasencia mused on the money he stood to make with a friend, Dr. Mark Chavez. "I wonder how much this moron will pay," Dr. Plasencia texted Dr. Chavez [who replied] "Lets find out." 

The violation of physician's oath of "Do no harm," was of no concern, and as long as Perry had money, the physicians and other involved would have continued to ride his back to the ATM. They understood, as Perry, according to reports, on more than once occasion, suffered incapacitating reaction to the tranquilizers, rendering incommunicado and unable to move.

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Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's assistant, told prosecutors in exchange for a plea deal, that Perry instructed him to "Shoot me up with the big one," on the day of the star's death. Iwamasa faces 15 years in prison for administering Ketamine without training.

Erik Fleming, a former director and actor, with a side hustle as a Hollywood drug supplier, faces 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to distribution of Ketamine and distribution resulting in death.

Dr. Mark Chavez has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute Ketamine and faces ten years in federal prison.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia has pleaded not guilty to all charges. In addition to one count of conspiracy to distribute and seven counts of distribution of Ketamine, he also lied to federal prosecutors during the initial days in the investigation and was charged with two counts of falsifying records. He was released on bond.

Javeen Sangha, who is known as the Ketamine Queen, and supplier of a smorgasbord of illegal substances, faces a life sentence The Washington Post reported, "According to the Justice Department, authorities found "79 vials of ketamine, [about three pounds] of orange pills containing methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, cocaine, and prescription drugs" at Sangha's residence after Perry's death. The Justice Department said that Sangha had a history with drug trafficking and that she previously sold ketamine to a man named Cody McLaury, who died of an overdose within hours."

Perry was found face down in his jacuzzi, after being injected with three shots of ketamine, which is an anesthetic with psychedelic properties, which the actor had been using to cope with depression and other effects of his very vocal struggles with the disease of drug and alcohol addictions.

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Carol Burnet and Hollywood's Shift

Funnywoman Carol Burnett has been nominated for her 23rd Emmy, more than six decades after she received her first Emmy nomination for her role on "The Garry Moore Show," in 1962.

"And now, at the age of 91, one of the most beloved entertainers of the television age has been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the Apple TV+ comedy "Palm Royale," in which she steals more than a few scenes as Norma Dellacorte," The Wrap.com reported.

Hollywood's shift, from ostracizing older talent to embracing age reveals a real shift in the presentation of "real" people within the industry. has become apparent that their circle of peers, as the Emmys are judged by the rank-and-file membership,

Ms. Burnett is not the only nonagenarian who has been nominated for an Emmy. Recently, Dick Van Dyke, at age 98, became the oldest performer to win an Emmy for his guest performance in the Daytime drama, "Days of Our Lives."

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Box Office Billion Dollar Club

"Deadpool & Wolverine" starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, has become the highest grossing R-rated box office film making a total of $1.85bn in 22 days of release. It surpassed "Joker" starring Joaquin Phoenix, which grossed an all-time total of $1.79bn.

"Deadpool & Wolverine," could essentially add a considerable sum to the total with the remember of the summer season and should stay in the box office through the holiday season, on some level.

Gena Rowlands

"Gena Rowlands, the wife and muse of John Cassavetes whose unvarnished abilities found in such films as Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night and Gloria put her in the pantheon of acting legends, died Wednesday. She was 94," reported The Hollywood Reporter.

Rowlands, even as a matriarch in her older age and newer films, captured the camera and radiated on the screen. Those who didn't know her name would leave the theater remembering her performance, which came at a time before the Hollywood transition which embraced talent, at any age. 

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Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation’s top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and the International Federation of Journalists.