Matthew Perry Seen 24 Hours Before Death, Appeared in Good Spirits

Matthew Perry was out and about the day before he died -- doing lunch with a woman, and looked to be in good spirits ... true to what people close to him have told us about his final weeks.

TMZ obtained these photos of the "Friends" star dining out Friday afternoon at the Hotel Bel-Air ... where he shared a table with a mystery brunette.

Folks there say Matthew and his guest were seated at the table for over an hour and left together.

In the photos, Matthew is chatting her up and we're told the actor was so engaged in conversation with her, he barely touched his drink or food.

The photos were snapped Oct. 27 around 2:30 PM ... and, sadly, by the following afternoon, Matthew was dead. As we first reported, his assistant called 911 around 4 PM after finding the actor unresponsive in his hot tub.

As we first reported ... LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division is investigating the death, not because foul play is suspected, but because it's such a high-profile case.

People close to Matthew have told us "he was never happier" than he'd been recently -- full of energy, and ready to jump back into work ... having committed to act in a movie, and developing TV series ideas.

No word on who the woman in the photos is, but she might very well have been the last person to break bread with Matthew.