R.I.P. James Michael Tyler
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:36 am
James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther on ‘Friends,’ dies
I found this interesting.NEW YORK – James Michael Tyler, the actor known widely for his recurring role as Gunther on “Friends,” has died. He was 59.
Tyler died Sunday at home in Los Angeles from prostate cancer, said his manager, Toni Benson. Tyler was first diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2018.
“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,” Benson wrote in a tribute. “Michael loved live music, cheering on his Clemson Tigers, and would often find himself in fun and unplanned adventures.”
Tyler was initially cast while working as a barista at the Bourgeois Pig coffee shop in Los Angeles. He didn't have a line of dialogue on “Friends” until he had made 33 appearances on the show, according to the 2019 book, “Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era," by Saul Austerlitz. Over the 236 episodes, Tyler appeared in 150 of them.