Friends actor James Michael Tyler dead at 59 – star who played Gunther passes after battling stage 4 prostate cancer

FRIENDS actor James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther, has passed away at the age of 59 after his battle with stage 4 prostate cancer.

The actor's rep confirmed the tragic news to TMZ.

The comedic star, who passed away at his home in Los Angeles, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2018. He had kept his diagnosis private for about three years.

Tyler is best known for playing the coffee shop manager Gunther in Friends.

Co-star Jennifer Aniston shared a throwback video and a lovely snapshot on her Instagram.

In the short clip, James' Gunther professed his love to Jennifer's Rachel, right in front of her boyfriend Ross (David Schwimmer). Rachel said she loved him too but "not in the same way."

Jennifer captioned the post: "Friends would not have been the same without you."

Courteney Cox, who played Monica, also shared the same sweet snap of James on her Instagram post.

She wrote: "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 closed with: "Rest In peace James," and added a black heart emoji.

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