Actor James Michael Tyler, best known for his role as Gunther on Friends, has passed away. He was 59 years old.
His manager, Toni Benson, said Tyler died of prostate cancer at his home in Los Angeles on Sunday. Tyler was first diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2018.
“The world knew him as Gunther (the seventh ‘Friend’) from the ‘Friends’ franchise, but Michael’s fans knew him as an actor, musician, cancer awareness advocate and a loving husband,” Benson wrote. . “Michael loved live music, cheered for the Clemson Tigers, and often found himself in fun and unplanned adventures.”
Tyler, 1990s “Just Shoot Me!” He took part in such serials for a short time. and “Teenage Witch Sabrina” before being cast as the background character in the second episode of “Friends” in 1994. Perk barista with an unrequited love for Rachel (Jennifer Aniston).
Tyler was originally cast while working as a barista at Cafe Bourgeois Pig in Los Angeles. According to Saul Austerlitz’s 2019 book Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Defined a Television Era, he didn’t have a single dialogue about “Friends” until he appeared 33 times on the show.
Tyler appeared in 150 of the 236 episodes.
The producer of the hit series, Warner Bros. TV mourned the passing of Tyler, who was “a beloved actor and an integral part of our ‘Friends’ family.”
When Friends ended in 2004, Tyler Scrubs appeared on the TV series Modern Music and starred in Matt LeBlanc’s 2012 Episodes.
While undergoing treatment following his cancer diagnosis, Tyler starred in two short films and sang Stephan Kalinich’s poem “I Wish You Had Known” to raise awareness for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.