NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� James Michael Tyler, the actor known widely for his recurring role as Gunther on 鈥淔riends,鈥� 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.
鈥淭he world knew him as Gunther (the seventh 鈥楩riend鈥�), from the hit series 鈥楩riends,鈥� but Michael鈥檚 loved ones knew him as an actor, musician, cancer-awareness advocate, and loving husband,鈥� Benson wrote in a tribute. 鈥淢ichael loved live music, cheering on his Clemson Tigers, and would often find himself in fun and unplanned adventures.鈥�
Tyler had appeared briefly in 1990s series like 鈥淛ust Shoot Me!鈥� and 鈥淪abrina the Teenage Witch” before being cast as a background character in the second episodes of 鈥淔riends鈥� in 1994. Over the show’s multi-year-run, he became the most frequently recurring guest star on the series playing Gunther, the Central Perk barista with an unrequited affection for Rachel (Jennifer Aniston).
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 鈥淔riends鈥� until he had made 33 appearances on the show, according to the 2019 book, 鈥淕eneration 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.
Warner Bros. Television, which produced the hit series, mourned the death of Tyler, 鈥渁 beloved actor and integral part of our 鈥楩riends鈥� family.鈥�
Once 鈥淔riends鈥� concluded in 2004, Tyler made appearances on 鈥淪crubs,” 鈥淢odern Music” and he played himself on an episode of Matt LeBlanc’s 鈥淓pisodes鈥� in 2012.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Tyler starred in two short films while undergoing treatment and gave a spoken word performance of the Stephan Kalinich poem 鈥淚f You Knew鈥� to help raise awareness for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Tyler is survived by his wife, Jennifer Carno.
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