'Friends' and friends remember James Michael Tyler

Friends and friends alike are mourning the untimely death of actor James Michael Tyler, who passed away at his home on Sunday following a battle with prostate cancer. He was 59 years old. His rep, Toni Benson, confirmed the news to media, writing, “If you met him once, you made a friend for life.”

Benson isn’t the only person sending out tributes following the sad news. In the hours after Tyler’s death was made public, many others also took some time to reflect and remember the guy who notably played Gunther on Friends for 10 seasons.

“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,” wrote Jennifer Aniston on Instagram. She also posted a clip from the final episode of Friends, in which Gunther reveals to her character, Rachel, that he’s in love with her. 

“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,” wrote Courteney Cox on her own Insta page alongside a headshot of Tyler in character as Gunther.

Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer shared the same image on their respective accounts.

“James Michael Tyler, we will miss you. Thank you for being there for us all,” wrote Kudrow. “James, thank you for playing such a wonderful, unforgettable role in Friends and for being such a big hearted gentleman and all around mensch off screen. You will be missed, buddy,” added Schwimmer.

Matt LeBlanc also shared the image, along with a screengrab of himself as Joey standing next to Gunther at Central Perk, where the character worked. “We had a lot of laughs buddy. You will be missed. RIP my friend,” he wrote.

In a joint statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane also paid tribute to Tyler.

“James was a genuinely kind, sweet man,” they said. “When he started as an extra on Friends, his unique spirit caught our eye and we knew we had to make him a character. He made Gunther’s unrequited love incredibly relatable. Our heart goes out to his wife, Jennifer Carno.”

Tyler was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer that had spread to his bones in September 2018 after a routine physical. However, he didn’t go public with the diagnosis until this past year, after people wondered why he didn’t make an in-person appearance during the Friends reunion and chose to do a quick cameo via Zoom instead.

About a month later, he filled everyone in during an appearance on the Today show. “My goal this past year was to see my 59th birthday. I did that,” he said at the time. “My goal now is to at least save one life,” he added, advocating for others with a prostate to get routine testing as early as 40.

Following the news, many others paid tribute to the beloved actor, remembering the laughter he brought. Unsurprisingly, both he and the hashtag #Rachel began trending online in the hours following his death. 

Tyler began as an extra on Friends (he was recruited after the powers that be saw him working as a barista at the Bourgeois Pig coffee shop in Hollywood), and went on to appear in 150 of the show’s 236 episodes. Over his career, he also appeared on series like Just Shoot Me!, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Scrubs, Episodes, and on the soap All My Children.

Our thoughts to go out to Tyler’s friends and family. For now, in the spirit of Rachel Green during the Friends series finale: “When [we’re] in a café, having coffee, or [we] see a man with hair brighter than the sun, [we’ll] think of you.”

BEFORE YOU GO: K-Stew on the idea of playing Joker with R-Patz's Batman

[video_embed id='2305324']BEFORE YOU GO: K-Stew on the idea of playing Joker with R-Patz's Batman [/video_embed]