Every year, we bid farewell to beloved celebrities, but Matthew Perry‘s death has left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. His passing continues to make headlines, but now for deeply troubling reasons.
On the morning of Thursday, August 14, the Department of Justice announced that an investigation had uncovered a criminal network that exploited the actor by deliberately supplying him with high doses of ketamine. Leaked text messages among those involved reveal their intent to monitor how addicted Perry would become and how much he would be willing to pay.
So far, five arrests have been made in connection with these crimes. The most shocking of all is the arrest of Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who should have been the one looking out for his well-being.
Kenneth Iwamasa, the talent manager that has a strong connection to Matthew Perry’s death
If you’ve been following the Matthew Perry case closely, Kenneth Iwamasa is likely a familiar name. According to the Daily Mail, the 59-year-old had been managing Perry’s career for over 25 years and took on the role of his caretaker just weeks before the actor’s tragic death.
Iwamasa is now in a complex position, as he was the one who reportedly discovered Perry’s body. With him being one of the primary suspects in the case, his close proximity to both Perry and the drug dealers involved in the actor’s life has raised many questions that may change what we thought we knew about the tragedy.
As listed on his LinkedIn profile, Iwamasa is a talent manager and executive assistant. His academic background is somewhat unrelated to his current work; he studied Environmental Design at the University of Colorado Boulder and Cinematography Production at Columbia College Hollywood, all before the 1990s.
In the early years of his career, he served as CEO of Sharmat Entertainment Associates from 1985 to 1988, coordinating an entertainment mentoring group for film and TV college students. Throughout the following decade, he held assistant roles at Danmark Ltd., Warner Bros, and Krost/Chapin Management, Inc.
In 1994, Iwamasa began assisting celebrities with their schedules and was hired by not only Matthew Perry but also Angela Bassett, Carol Kane, Regina Taylor, and others. According to Iwamasa, his responsibilities included managing all aspects of executive and celebrity talent support, from project management and scheduling to document digitization. As the ongoing investigation suggests, Iwamasa’s deep involvement in Matthew Perry’s life may have ultimately contributed to its tragic end.