Mr. Heckles' death was a surprisingly profound experience for Chandler (Matthew Perry). In digging through Mr. Heckles' possessions, Chandler finds that the two have a lot in common, including a noted sense of humor and a superficial pickiness when it comes to dating women. Taken aback by these commonalities, Chandler is certain he too will become a curmudgeonly hermit, until his friends cheer him up. When the gang cleans up the last of Mr. Heckles' things, Chandler is the last to leave the empty apartment, warmly acknowledging that they'll try to keep it down.
Mr. Heckles' death was primarily used as a plot device to have Chandler experience some character growth. For Larry Hankin, however, the death came as a shock. After appearing in a few episodes of "Friends," Hankin had acquired a certain amount of fame. He was well on his way to becoming a recurring character, which would have come with a bigger paycheck.
"I got a call from my agent saying, 'I have good news and bad news. First, 'Friends' called for your fifth appearance...'" Hankin recalled to Cracked. "In that moment, I thought, 'I have a house.' Then he said, 'You have a heart attack and die.'"
Hankin was livid when he got to set. "After we taped, I lost it," he continued. I went over to the producers and shouted, 'What did you do!?!' Everybody just shut up." Despite the outburst, Hankin seemed to patch things up with the "Friends" producers, returning for the Season 3 episode "The One with the Flashback."
