'Friends' stars pay tribute James Michael Tyler after his death: 'You will be so missed'
James Michael Tyler died Sunday morning, as confirmed by his manager to Variety, after publicly revealing his stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis in late June.
The 59-year-old actor was best known for his role of Gunther on Friends —a witty barista and manager at Central Perk with an intense crush on Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). He appeared in 150 episodes across the iconic sitcom's 10-season run from 1994 to 2004.
Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer posted tributes to their former co-star:
Tyler previously disclosed his dwindling health to Today's Craig Melvin on June 21:
Tyler explained that he was diagnosed with "advanced prostate cancer" in September 2018 that spread to his bones. "Stage 4, late-stage cancer, so eventually it's gonna probably get me," he added.
Tyler said he was "sure" the Friends core cast members, which also included Matthew Perry, knew of his diagnosis. "David Schwimmer has corresponded with me via Instagram," he shared. "The producers are aware. They've been aware for a long time."
HBO Max's Friends: The Reunion, which began streaming in late May, featured an appearance from Tyler over Zoom.
"I wanted to be a part of that, and initially I was going to be on the stage, at least, with them, and be able to take part in all the festivities," he said, per Today's website. "It was bittersweet, honestly. I was very happy to be included. It was my decision not to be a part of that physically and make an appearance on Zoom, basically, because I didn't wanna bring a downer on it, you know? ... I didn't want to be like, 'Oh, and by the way, Gunther has cancer.'"
Tyler's main point of emphasis during the segment was to encourage other men to get the PSA test early and often to hopefully prevent what happened to him.
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