James Michael Tyler, the actor who played Gunther on Friends, has died at 59

published 25 October 2021

James Michael Tyler, the actor famous for playing Gunther, the manager of the fictional coffee shop Central Perk on 150 episodes of Friends, died Sunday. He was 59, and the cause of death was prostate cancer, a diagnosis he made public in June. Tyler died "peacefully in his home," longtime manager Toni Benson said in a statement. "The world knew him as Gunther the seventh 'Friend,' but Michael's loved ones knew him as an actor, musician, cancer-awareness advocate, and loving husband."

Tyler's Gunther character carried an unrequited love for Jennifer Aniston's Rachel, who worked at Central Perk. Tyler actually was a barista at the Bourgeois Pig coffee shop in Los Angeles after college, before he landed roles on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Just Shoot Me!, and finally, Friends.

While undergoing treatment for stage 4 prostate cancer, he appeared in two award-winning short films, The Gesture and the Word and Processing, USA Today reports, and when he announced his diagnosis he urged people to get tested for prostate cancer. His late-stage cancer was discovered during a routing physical in 2018, from a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test

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Tyler is survived by his wife, Jennifer Carno.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.