Tributes for actor James Michael Tyler have been flooding in after his tragic passing at age 59.
James, best known as Gunther from world famous sitcom Friends, died last weekend following a diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer in 2018.
James’ manager issued a public statement explaining that the actor had “passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on Sunday morning”.
A statement added: “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. If you met him once you made a friend for life.”
“Wanting to help as many people as possible, he bravely shared his story and became a campaigner for those with a prostate to get a… blood test as early as 40-years-old.”
Fellow Friends alumni including Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer paid tribute to their co-star.
Jennifer Aniston shared with her 38 million Instagram followers a clip of Tyler and herself performing in the final episode of Friends, with the caption: “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 #JamesMichaelTyler 💔”.
Courtney Cox also took to social media to mark the passing of a beloved cast member.
“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” she said. “Rest In peace James. ♥️”
Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe in Friends, articulated that the loss was felt by all involved in the show stating that “we will miss you”.
“Thank you for being there for us all. #jamesmichealtyler”
David Schwimmer thanked Tyler for playing “such a wonderful unforgettable role”, noting also that he had been ‘a big hearted gentleman and all around mensch off screen’.
“You will be missed, buddy.”
Matt LeBlanc, known globally as Joey from Friends, kept his comments succinct yet heartfelt.
“We had a lot of laughs buddy. You will be missed. RIP my friend.”
Finally, Matthew Perry took to Twitter to pay tribute to the late James Michael Tyler.
“We lost a good Friend yesterday in James Michael Tyler. Gunther, you will be missed. Read in Peace.”
Fans of Friends were delighted when HBO aired the Friends reunion this year, which saw the cast reunite after 150 episodes and 27 years. However, notably, James Michael Tyler had not been present upon the couch – instead opting to appear via Zoom link to avoid putting a ‘downer’ on the celebrations.
“It was 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,” he had told TODAY.
Family, friends and fans continue to pay tribute to the big hearted star.