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James Michael Tyler

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person James Michael Tyler (May 28, 1962 – October 24, 2021) was an American actor best known for portraying Gunther on the NBC sitcom Friends.<ref name=NYT>Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to acting, he was an assistant film editor and production assistant.<ref name="DL"/> 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. On October 24, 2021, Tyler died from complications of advanced prostate cancer at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 59.

Early lifeEdit

James Michael Tyler was born on May 28, 1962, the youngest of five children, in either Greenwood, Mississippi<ref name="DL" /><ref name="HL">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="IGN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> or Winona, Mississippi.<ref name="HR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="MW">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="HR" /><ref name="IM" /><ref name="DL" /> Tyler graduated from T. L. Hanna High School in 1980.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="IGN" /><ref name="HL" /><ref name="IM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="HR" />

CareerEdit

In 1988, he moved to Los Angeles and became an assistant film editor and production assistant.<ref name="DL">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same year, he was a production assistant on the film Fat Man and Little Boy.<ref name="HL" /> 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.<ref name="HR" /><ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="MW" /><ref name="HL" /><ref name=":1" />

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. <ref name=":1" />

In honor of FriendsTemplate:' 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He appeared in the unaired pilot satire sitcom Nobody's Watching, playing himself on the set of Central Perk.<ref name="MW" />

In honor of FriendsTemplate:' 20th anniversary in 2014, Tyler made appearances at a Central Perk replica in SoHo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="ABC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Ran">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="LOAC"/>

He supported the Lili Claire Foundation and AIDS Project Los Angeles charities.<ref name="MW" />

Personal lifeEdit

In 1995, Tyler married Barbara Chadsey. The couple separated in 2003, and in 2014, he filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He married Jennifer Carno in 2017.<ref name="Independent"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref name="LAD">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

DeathEdit

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.<ref name="NBC News 2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Independent">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

FilmographyEdit

FilmEdit

Year Film Role Notes
1992 The Roommate<ref name="IGN"/> Bar Patron First credited role, short film
1997 Motel Blue<ref name=BFI/><ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/> Oscar Bevins
1997 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Wilson Pomade
1999 Foreign Correspondents<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Randy
2010 Jason's Big Problem<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/> Blane
2020 Processing<ref name=":0" /> Frank Brandt Short film
2020 The Gesture and The Word<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Gilbert (the postman) Short film - The Gesture and the Word <ref>Short film - The Gesture and The Word</ref>

TelevisionEdit

Year Title Role Notes
1994–2004 Friends<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name="TVG Filmography">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Gunther Recurring role, 148 episodes
2000 Just Shoot Me!<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name="TVG Filmography"/> Doctor Episode: "Donnie Returns"
2001 Sabrina, the Teenage Witch<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/> Ethan Episode: "My Best Shot"
2004 Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters<ref name="LOAC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Judge Episode: Morimoto/Flay VS. Sakai/Batali
2005 Scrubs<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name="TVG Filmography"/> Therapist Episode: "My Faith in Humanity"
2006 Nobody's Watching<ref name="MW"/> Himself Unaired pilot
2010 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Chase Made for TV short film
2012 Episodes<ref name="ABC"/><ref name="Ran"/><ref name="LOAC"/> Himself Episode Six, Season Two
2013 Modern Music<ref name="LOAC"/> Chad Levitz Main role, 5 episodes (Web series)
2021 Friends: The Reunion<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/> Himself HBO Max Special

Video gamesEdit

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Friends: The One with All the Trivia Narrator and host <ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2005 Friends: Scene It? Narrator DVD board game<ref name=":2" />

Music videoEdit

Year Title Artist
2007 "Come Tomorrow" Chicane

If You Knew spoken word performanceEdit

In July 2021, producers Al Gomes and Connie Watrous of Big Noise, along with two-time Emmy nominee Tim Labonte and Grammy winner Alan Boyd, conceptualized and created a short film for Tyler's spoken word performance entitled If You Knew.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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