James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther on ‘Friends,’ dies

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — James Michael Tyler, the actor known widely for his recurring role as Gunther on “Friends,” has died. He was 59. Tyler died Sunday at home in Los Angeles from prosrate cancer, said his manager, Toni Benson. Tyler was first diagnosed with advanced prostrate cancer in 2018. Tyler had appeared briefly in 1990s series like “Just Shoot Me!” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” before being cast as a background character in the second episodes of “Friends” in 1994. Over the show’s multi-year-run, he became the most frequently recurring guest star on the series playing Gunther, the Central Perk worker with an unrequited affection for Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel.