James Michael Tyler, who famously portrayed Gunther on Friends, sadly passed away on Oct. 24 in Los Angeles, a rep for the actor confirmed to TMZ (opens in new tab). Tyler, who was 59, was diagnosed with prostate cancer (opens in new tab) in 2018.
Tributes from those close to Tyler have been pouring in following the sad news. "The world knew him as Gunther (the seventh "Friend"), from the hit series "Friends," but Michael’s loved ones knew him as an actor, musician, cancer-awareness advocate, and loving husband," his family said in a statement.
On Friends, Tyler played Gunther, the awkward Central Perk café manager with "hair brighter than the sun" who was in love with Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) throughout the series, and was a beloved though never quite integrated part of the group.
Friends cast members remember Tyler as a beautiful presence on set. Aniston shared a scene from the show where Gunther finally declares his love to Rachel on Instagram (opens in new tab), captioning it, "Friends would not have been the same without you. Thank you for the laughter you brought to the show and to all of our lives. You will be so missed #JamesMichaelTyler."
Courteney Cox wrote (opens in new tab), "The size of gratitude you brought into the room and showed every day on set is the size of the gratitude I hold for having known you. Rest In peace James."
Lisa Kudrow remembered (opens in new tab) Tyler with the words, "James Michael Tyler, we will miss you. Thank you for being there for us all. #jamesmichealtyler [sic]."
And Matt LeBlanc wrote (opens in new tab) the simple but poignant caption, "We had a lot of laughs buddy. You will be missed. RIP my friend."
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