You will be missed, Gunther: ‘Friends’ co-stars
James Michael Tyler, our beloved barista "Gunther" from "Friends", died on October 24 after a long fight with prostate cancer.
Social media users and celebrities including James' colleagues paid tributes to the late actor as the news spread.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "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," Jennifer Aniston, who played Gunther's unrequited love interest on the show, wrote in an Instagram post.
Courtney Cox followed, writing: "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."
"We had a lots of laughs buddy. You will be missed. RIP my friend," wrote Matt LeBlanc aka Joey.
"James Michael Tyler, we will miss you. Thank you for being there for us all," wrote Lisa Kudrow, another Friends co-star in her Instagram post.
In May, Tyler had appeared on "Friends: The Reunion" but was unable to attend in person due to his health issues. Appearing instead via Zoom, he said: "It was the most memorable 10 years of my life, honestly.
"I could not have imagined just a better experience. All these guys were fantastic and just a joy to work with. It felt very, very special."
Tyler said he didn't reveal his illness before then because: "I didn't want it to be like 'Oh, and by the way, Gunther has cancer'."
Kevin Bright, former executive producer of "Friends", tweeted: "James Michael Tyler Our Gunther passed away last night. He was an incredible person who spent his final days helping others. God bless you James, Gunther lives forever."
The official "Friends" Twitter page passed on a message from Warner Bros. Television Studios, writing: "Warner Bros. Television mourns the loss of James Michael Tyler, a beloved actor and integral part of our FRIENDS family. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues and fans."
James Michael Tyler was born on May 28, 1962 in Greenwood, Mississippi. He was initially cast in "Friends" while working as a barista at the Bourgeois Pig coffee shop in Los Angeles.
However, he didn't have a single line of dialogue on the show until he had made 33 appearances, according to the 2019 book, "Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era", by Saul Austerlitz. Of 236 episodes of the show, Tyler appeared in 150.
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