James Michael Tyler (May 28, 1962 – October 24, 2021) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Gunther on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom '' Friends''. Prior to acting, he was an assistant

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film ed ...

and

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

. His early works included being the production assistant for ''

Fat Man and Little Boy ''Fat Man and Little Boy'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''Shadow Makers'') is a 1989 epic historical war film directed by Roland Joffé who co-wrote the script with Bruce Robinson. The story follows the Manhattan Project, the secret All ...

''. He also portrayed Oscar Bevins in the 1997 thriller film ''

Motel Blue ''Motel Blue'' (also known as ''Blue Motel'') is a 1997 thriller film directed by Sam Firstenberg and starring Sean Young. Plot Kyle Rivers has joined the Department of Defense as an investigator. Her first assignment is to do a background chec ...

''.

Early life

James Michael Tyler was born on May 28, 1962, the youngest of five children, in either

Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...

Winona, Mississippi } Winona is a city in Montgomery County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,043 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County. Winona is known in the local area as "The Crossroads of North Mississippi"; the interse ...

. When Tyler was ten years old, his father, a former

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

captain, died. Just one year later, when Tyler was age eleven, his mother passed away. Afterwards, Tyler moved to

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Green ...

to live with his sister. Tyler graduated from

T.L. Hanna High School T. L. Hanna High School is located at 2600 Highway 81 North, outside the city limits of Anderson, South Carolina, United States. It is one of two high schools in Anderson School District Five and has a population of nearly 2,100 students. On Jul ...

in 1980. He graduated from Anderson College (now Anderson University) in 1982 with a two-year Associate's degree and subsequently graduated from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

with a degree in

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

in 1984. During his time at Clemson, he was a member of a student

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

group, the Clemson Players. This experience sparked his interest in becoming an actor. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in 1987.

Career

In 1988, he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and became an assistant

and

. The same year, he was a production assistant on the film ''

''. In L.A., he also worked at

Guitar Center Guitar Center is an American Music store, musical instrument retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind in the United States, with 294 locations. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California. Guitar Center oversees various sub ...

and a coffee shop called the Bourgeois Pig. It was here that he met his first wife, Barbara Chadsey, whom he married in 1995. From 1994 to 2004, James Michael Tyler played Gunther on the sitcom ''Friends''. Gunther was a coffee shop worker at Central Perk who had unrequited love for Rachel Green, played by

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

. His real-life experience as a barista gave an assistant director on ''Friends'' the idea to put him behind the counter of Central Perk to make the set seem more "authentic". This led to a ten-year career with appearances in 148 of ''Friends''' 236 episodes; he is the show's most-frequently-appearing recurring character actor. The night before his first appearance on ''Friends,'' a hair stylist friend asked if he could practice bleaching on Tyler's hair. Tyler agreed, and the makers of ''Friends'' loved it so much that what should have been a one-off look ended up becoming part of his character. He ended up having to bleach his hair every week for ten years. In honor of ''Friends'' 15th anniversary in 2009, Tyler officially opened the temporary Central Perk pop-up replica in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It was open for two weeks from September to October and fans could apply for tickets to receive a free coffee and see memorabilia from the show. He appeared in the unaired pilot satire sitcom '' Nobody's Watching'', playing himself on the set of Central Perk. In honor of ''Friends'' 20th anniversary in 2014, Tyler made appearances at a Central Perk replica in

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

. Tyler appeared in the BBC/Showtime sitcom ''

Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...

'' (Series 2, Episode 6) as himself playing an ice hockey coach, when

Matt LeBlanc Matthew Steven LeBlanc (; born July 25, 1967) is an American actor. He garnered global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and in its spin-off series, ''Joey''. For his work on ''Friends'', LeBlanc r ...

tries unsuccessfully to get the other main stars from '' Friends'' to appear in the promotional video for the fictional television show ''Pucks''. He supported the Lili Claire Foundation and

AIDS Project Los Angeles APLA Health is a non-profit organization that is focused on building health equity and promoting wellbeing for the LGBT and people living with HIV." APLA Health is one of the largest non-profit HIV service organizations in the United States. Its ...

charities.

Personal life

In 1995, Tyler married Barbara Chadsey. The couple separated in 2003, and in 2014, he filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. He later married Jennifer Carno in 2017.

Death

Tyler was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018, but did not publicly disclose his illness until June 2021, shortly after the release of '' Friends: The Reunion''. The cancer

metastasized Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

to his spine, leading him to use a wheelchair. He died of complications from the disease at his home in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, on October 24, 2021, at the age of 59.

Filmography

In addition to the below, Tyler

narrated A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc.). N ...

and hosted the 2005 game '' Friends: The One with All the Trivia'', along with the 2005

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

Film

Television

Music video

''If You Knew'' spoken word performance

In July 2021, producers Al Gomes and Connie Watrous of Big Noise, along with two-time Emmy Nominee Tim Labonte and Grammy Award winner

Alan Boyd Alan Boyd is an American musician, sound engineer, record producer, and filmmaker who is best known for his work with the Beach Boys. Since the 1980s, he has been an archive manager for the band's Brother Records. Since 2000, he has worked alongs ...

, conceptualized and created a short film for Tyler's spoken word performance entitled ''If You Knew''. Tyler's recording had been featured on a 2016 tribute album to

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

' lyricist Stephen Kalinich called ''Be Still'' that Gomes, Watrous, and Boyd had also produced. The Recording Academy placed the collection on the Official Ballot for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards for Best

Spoken Word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

Album. Tyler also composed the music for the recording. The new video for ''If You Knew'' was produced to honor Tyler and also create a fundraiser for the organization that was working closely with him, the

Prostate Cancer Foundation The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), headquartered in Santa Monica, California, funds research into the prevention and cure of prostate cancer. Several important prostate cancer discoveries made in the past 30 years have been as a result of PC ...

. All the streaming proceeds of the video, and Tyler's original recording, are being donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Notes

References

External links

*
Video: James Michael Tyler – If You KnewSpoken Word Tribute Album: Be Still : The Works of Stephen J. Kalinich – SpotifySpoken Word Tribute Album: Be Still : The Works of Stephen J. Kalinich – Apple MusicJames Michael Tyler and Prostate Cancer FoundationMusic Video: Chicane – Come Tomorrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, James Michael 1962 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male television actors Anderson University (South Carolina) alumni Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Clemson University alumni Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from prostate cancer Male actors from Mississippi People from Winona, Mississippi People from Greenwood, Mississippi University of Georgia alumni