‘Friends’ actor James Michael Tyler dies at 59 from prostate cancer

It was 1994 and James Michael Tyler was an unnamed extra in the new series Friends. But being the only one on set who knew how to operate an espresso machine, he was cast in the role of Gunther, which he played in more than 100 episodes, until the end of production.

Tyler passed away at age 59 on October 24, his manager confirmed to the network BBC. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Carno.

Last June, the actor revealed that he was battling stage 4 prostate cancer..

“He wanted to help as many people as he could, and he courageously shared his story and became a champion for everyone with a prostate to have a blood test at age 40,” said the representative.

Despite the illness, Tyler was eager to participate in the cast reunion of Friends on HBO Max this year; in the end, he was able to do it by videoconference.

“I wanted to be a part of this, and initially I was going to be on stage with them, and at the festivities,” he explained then. “It was bittersweet, really. I was happy to be included. It was my decision not to go in person and appear on Zoom, because I didn’t want to bring them down, you know? I didn’t want them to have to say, “Oh right, Gunther has cancer.”.

Tyler also revealed to Today that the producers were aware of the severity of their diagnosis and that had opened up to David Schwimmer (Ross) on Instagram.

In one of his last interviews for the NBC, urged people to obey their doctors and get tested. “My goal this year has been to turn 59, and I did it. Now I want to save at least one life. “

Other series in which Tyler lent his performance have been Sabrina the teenage witch and Scrubs.