American actor (1962?2021)
James Michael Tyler
|
---|
|
Born
| (
1962-05-28
)
May 28, 1962
|
---|
Died
| October 24, 2021
(2021-10-24)
(aged 59)
|
---|
Occupation
| Actor
|
---|
Years active
| 1992?2021
|
---|
Notable credit
| Friends
(1994?2004)
|
---|
Spouses
| -
Barbara Chadsey
(
m.
1995, divorced)
-
Jennifer Carno
(
m.
2017)
|
---|
James Michael Tyler
(May 28, 1962 ? October 24, 2021) was an American actor best known for portraying
Gunther
on the
NBC
sitcom
Friends
.
[5]
Prior to acting, he was an assistant
film editor
and
production assistant
.
[1]
His early works included being the production assistant for
Fat Man and Little Boy
. He also portrayed Oscar Bevins in the 1997 thriller film
Motel Blue
.
Early life
[
edit
]
James Michael Tyler was born on May 28, 1962, the youngest of five children, in either
Greenwood, Mississippi
[1]
[2]
[6]
or
Winona, Mississippi
.
[3]
[4]
When Tyler was ten years old, his father, a former
USAF
captain, died. Just one year later, when Tyler was age eleven, his mother died. Afterwards, Tyler moved to
Anderson, South Carolina
to live with his sister.
[3]
[7]
[1]
Tyler graduated from
T. L. Hanna High School
in 1980.
[8]
He graduated from Anderson College (now
Anderson University
) in 1982 with a two-year Associate's degree and subsequently graduated from
Clemson University
with a degree in
geology
in 1984. During his time at Clemson, he was a member of a student
theatre
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
in 1987.
[6]
[2]
[7]
[3]
Career
[
edit
]
In 1988, he moved to
Los Angeles
and became an assistant
film editor
and
production assistant
.
[1]
The same year, he was a production assistant on the film
Fat Man and Little Boy
.
[2]
In L.A., he also worked at
Guitar Center
and a coffee shop called the Bourgeois Pig. It was here that he met his first wife, Barbara Chadsey, whom he married in 1995.
[3]
[9]
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
. 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.
[4]
[2]
[9]
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.
[9]
In honor of
Friends
'
15th anniversary in 2009, Tyler officially opened the temporary Central Perk pop-up replica in
London
. 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.
[10]
He appeared in the unaired pilot satire sitcom
Nobody's Watching
, playing himself on the set of Central Perk.
[4]
In honor of
Friends
'
20th anniversary in 2014, Tyler made appearances at a Central Perk replica in
SoHo
.
[11]
Tyler appeared in the BBC/Showtime sitcom
Episodes
(Series 2, Episode 6) as himself playing an ice hockey coach, when
Matt LeBlanc
tries unsuccessfully to get the other main stars from
Friends
to appear in the promotional video for the fictional television show
Pucks
.
[12]
[13]
[14]
He supported the Lili Claire Foundation and
AIDS Project Los Angeles
charities.
[4]
Personal life
[
edit
]
In 1995, Tyler married Barbara Chadsey. The couple separated in 2003, and in 2014, he filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
[15]
He married Jennifer Carno in 2017.
[16]
[17]
[18]
Death
[
edit
]
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
.
[19]
The cancer
metastasized
to his spine, leading him to use a wheelchair. He died of complications from the disease at his home in
Los Angeles
,
California
, on October 24, 2021, at the age of 59.
[20]
[16]
[21]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Year
|
Film
|
Role
|
Notes
|
1992
|
The Roommate
[6]
|
Bar Patron
|
First credited role,
short film
|
1997
|
Motel Blue
[22]
[23]
|
Oscar Bevins
|
|
1997
|
The Disturbance at Dinner
[22]
|
Wilson Pomade
|
|
1999
|
Foreign Correspondents
[23]
|
Randy
|
|
2010
|
Jason's Big Problem
[23]
|
Blane
|
|
2020
|
Processing
[24]
|
Frank Brandt
|
Short film
|
2020
|
The Gesture and The Word
[24]
|
Gilbert (the postman)
|
Short film - The Gesture and the Word
[25]
|
Television
[
edit
]
Video games
[
edit
]
Music video
[
edit
]
If You Knew
spoken word performance
[
edit
]
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
, conceptualized and created a short film for Tyler's spoken word performance entitled
If You Knew
.
[30]
Tyler's recording had been featured on a 2016 tribute album to
The Beach Boys
' 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
Album. Tyler also composed the music for the recording.
[31]
[32]
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
. All the streaming proceeds of the video, and Tyler's original recording, are being donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
[33]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"James Michael Tyler Dies: 'Friends' Actor Who Portrayed Gunther Was 59"
.
DEADLINE
. October 24, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"
'Friends' Star James Michael Tyler Dies At 59 After Stage 4 Prostate Cancer Battle"
.
Hollywood Life
. October 24, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"James Michael Tyler, Gunther the Central Perk Barista on 'Friends,' Dies at 59"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. October 24, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Where is Friends' Gunther now? James Michael Tyler once opened temporary Central Perk pop-up replica in London"
.
MEAWW
. May 19, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
"James Michael Tyler he is still alive"
. Movies & TV Dept.
The New York Times
. March 18, 2014. Archived from
the original
on April 19, 2015.
- ^
a
b
c
"James Michael Tyler, the Actor Who Played Gunther on Friends, Dies at 59"
.
IGN
. October 25, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"James Michael Tyler, actor and TL Hanna grad most famous for Friends role, has died"
.
Independent Mail
. October 25, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
"
'Friends' actor James Michael Tyler attended T.L. Hanna High School, Clemson"
.
WYFF
. October 25, 2021
. Retrieved
October 26,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
"James Michael Tyler obituary"
.
The Times
.
ISSN
0140-0460
. Retrieved
November 4,
2021
.
- ^
Thorley, Chantelle (September 15, 2009).
"London to celebrate 15 years of Friends with Central Perk pop-up"
.
Event
. Archived from
the original
on April 10, 2010
. Retrieved
September 22,
2009
.
- ^
Locker, Melissa (September 16, 2014).
"Central Perk From Friends Is Now a Real Place, and Gunther Is There"
.
Time
. Retrieved
January 2,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther on 'Friends,' dies"
.
ABC News
. October 24, 2021
. Retrieved
October 26,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"The Cast of Friends: Where Are They Now?"
.
Ranker
. October 2, 2020
. Retrieved
October 26,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Muere James Michael Tyler, actor de la serie 'Friends'
"
.
La Opinion A Coruna
(in European Spanish). October 26, 2021
. Retrieved
October 26,
2021
.
- ^
"Former 'Friends' actor files for divorce"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
. March 6, 2014. Archived from
the original
on October 22, 2014
. Retrieved
September 3,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther on Friends, has died aged 59"
.
The Independent
. October 24, 2021
. Retrieved
October 24,
2021
.
- ^
"James Michael Tyler on Instagram: "My lovely wife ... Jenn"
.
Instagram
. September 5, 2019. Archived from
the original
on December 24, 2021
. Retrieved
September 23,
2021
.
- ^
"Who Was James Michael Tyler's Wife?"
.
LADbible
. October 25, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
"
'Friends' actor James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther, shares prostate cancer diagnosis"
.
NBC News
. June 21, 2021
. Retrieved
June 21,
2021
.
- ^
Patel, Vimal; Jimenez, Jesus (October 25, 2021).
"James Michael Tyler, Who Played Gunther on 'Friends,' Dies at 59"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
October 27,
2021
.
- ^
"Friends' James Michael Tyler Dead at 59 Following Stage 4 Prostate Cancer Diagnosis"
.
Yahoo!
. October 24, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"James Michael Tyler"
.
British Film Institute
. Archived from
the original
on April 16, 2022
. Retrieved
October 24,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"James Michael Tyler"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
. Retrieved
October 24,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"James Michael Tyler: Friends stars show 'gratitude' for Gunther actor"
.
BBC News
. October 25, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
Short film - The Gesture and The Word
- ^
a
b
c
"James Michael Tyler List of Movies and TV Shows"
.
TV Guide
. Retrieved
October 24,
2021
.
- ^
"Fallecio el actor que interpreto al inolvidable "Gunther" en Friends"
.
La Capital (Mar del Plata)
(in European Spanish). October 24, 2021
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"James Michael Tyler, Friends Gunther Actor, Dies at 59"
.
Screen Rant
. October 24, 2021
. Retrieved
October 26,
2021
.
- ^
"What Is Gunther From 'Friends' Doing Now, Anyways?"
.
Marie Claire
. June 21, 2021
. Retrieved
October 26,
2021
.
- ^
"James Michael Tyler ? If You Knew : YouTube"
.
YouTube
. July 16, 2021.
- ^
"Be Still : The Works of Stephen J. Kalinich : Spotify"
.
Spotify
. February 12, 2021.
- ^
"Be Still : The Works of Stephen J. Kalinich : Apple Music"
. February 12, 2021.
- ^
"James Michael Tyler and Prostate Cancer Foundation"
. July 16, 2021.
External links
[
edit
]