James Michael Tyler (Gunther) 1962-2021 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 10-24-2021, 06:55 PM

https://people.com/tv/friends-james-...ostate-cancer/

RetroGuy2000 · 10-24-2021, 08:23 PM

So, so sorry to hear this. He was great as Gunther.

☕🍩

Bonniegirl · 10-24-2021, 11:22 PM

Oh no !! Not Gunther !! So sad !!

I loved him , he was so in love with Rachel and was such a nice guy and she never gave him the time of day !!

Very sorry to hear of his passing, much too young and a very beloved , funny character actor on the great show Friends !

Bonniegirl · 10-24-2021, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

So, so sorry to hear this. He was great as Gunther.

☕🍩

Yes !! I am tearing up reading about his passing !!

I watch reruns of Friends all the time, one of my all time favorite shows ! Very sad !

RetroGuy2000 · 10-25-2021, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Yes !! I am tearing up reading about his passing !!

I watch reruns of Friends all the time, one of my all time favorite shows ! Very sad !

I feel the same way, Bonnie.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-25-2021, 03:03 AM

I found a nice, brief interview with James and Maggie (Janice) in a pop-up recreation of Central Perk from 2019. Just goes to show how fleeting life really is.

80sTrivia · 10-25-2021, 04:33 PM

So sad to hear of his passing...

AB · 10-25-2021, 04:58 PM

I liked him as Gunther on Friends, I hate to hear that he passed away.

TMC · 10-25-2021, 09:08 PM

Friends creators pay tribute to James Michael Tyler

“James was a genuinely kind, sweet man," co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane said in a statement honoring the Gunther actor, who died Sunday after battling prostate cancer at age 59. "When he started as an extra on Friends, his unique spirit caught our eye and we knew we had to make him a character. He made Gunther’s unrequited love incredibly relatable. Our heart goes out to his wife, Jennifer Carno.” Meanwhile, Matthew Perry joined his Friends co-stars in paying tribute to Tyler, tweeting this morning: "We lost a good Friend yesterday in James Michael Tyler. Gunther, you will be missed. Read in Peace." ALSO: Tyler landed Gunther role because he knew how to work an espresso machine.

James Michael Tyler's Gunther was Friends' most human character, piercing its fantasy

Tyler, who died Sunday at age 59 after battling prostate cancer, was more than a background actor -- he imbued his minor character with a "fourth-wall kind of eloquence" and "a sense of ironized self-awareness," says Megan Garber. Tyler "didn’t play Gunther as a side character," says Garber. "He played Gunther, instead, as a character who was sidelined. That made all the difference. Tyler invested Gunther, who was otherwise the stuff of sitcom cliché, with a biting awareness of his own exclusion from the show’s hermetic main group. Gunther is always in their orbit, but never in their world—and he is keenly aware of that disconnect. In the friends’ lives, though no one told you life was gonna be this way, things work out all the same. Not so for Gunther. Through him, reality pierces Friends’ chipper fantasies." Garber adds: "Sitcoms need both stars and background characters to tell their stories, and most supporting characters do not question their sidelining. But Gunther? Gunther is bitter about it. He is an avatar of the casual arbitrariness of the show, and of the friends’ insularity: These six people are deeply incurious about the people who are not part of their little world. On paper, Gunther is often a sap, a tangle of desire and disappointment. In practice, the way Tyler played him, he is the most human character on the show—and arguably its moral rudder. When Chandler reveals that he doesn’t know the full name of the guy he has seen almost every day for years, the joke doesn’t come at Gunther’s expense. It comes at Chandler’s. Tyler didn’t simply communicate Gunther’s frustrations; he deployed them. His performances convey the simmering indignation of being rendered invisible...Much about Gunther, whether his bleach-bright hair or his fluorescent outfits, suggests a deep desire to be the center of attention. And yet the show, on the whole, keeps him relegated to the spaces behind the scenes. Gunther functions, in Friends, as a consequential stranger: a person you might often encounter as you live your life, but whom you don’t, in any meaningful sense, know. Viewers are exposed to him in roughly the same way they might be exposed to the people they casually interact with in everyday life...Gunther is a background character who knows that, in another show, he would have been the star. And although Tyler did not have many lines, he used the ones he did have to give Gunther a fourth-wall kind of eloquence. Particularly as Friends moved into its later seasons, Tyler imbued the character with a sense of ironized self-awareness. To watch Gunther is to suspect that he is watching the proceedings—these blandly telegenic young people, with their blend of cheerful entitlements—at the same time that we are. He’s a viewer, too. He exists in a liminal space, seemingly hovering between the world of the show and the world its audiences inhabit. Tyler gave Gunther the feel of a Greek chorus, or of a narrator: He sees the hijinks onstage for what they are. He knows that Friends is selling a fantasy. But he also knows that he can have his moments inside the illusion." ALSO: Lego pays tribute to James Michael Tyler.

Dr. Thong · 10-26-2021, 04:46 PM

I always felt that Rachel should have gone off with Gunther in the series finale -- finally, after all those years of pining away for her from a distance, his waiting would have paid off.

I mean, the predictable happened and she went off with Ross.

But in all seriousness, I didn't realize he was as old as he was and that he was battling cancer.

A sad loss for the Friends family.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-26-2021, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

I always felt that Rachel should have gone off with Gunther in the series finale -- finally, after all those years of pining away for her from a distance, his waiting would have paid off.

I mean, the predictable happened and she went off with Ross.

But in all seriousness, I didn't realize he was as old as he was and that he was battling cancer.

A sad loss for the Friends family.

Rachel seeing Gunther at the end would have been an interesting twist!

Dr. Thong · 10-29-2021, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Rachel seeing Gunther at the end would have been an interesting twist!

I just got tired of Ross and Rachel by the end of it and yeah, it would have been a funny twist ending.

RetroGuy2000 · 10-29-2021, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

I just got tired of Ross and Rachel by the end of it and yeah, it would have been a funny twist ending.

I love it!

10-24-2021, 06:55 PM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,415	James Michael Tyler (Gunther) 1962-2021 https://people.com/tv/friends-james-...ostate-cancer/

10-24-2021, 08:23 PM	#2
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	So, so sorry to hear this. He was great as Gunther. ☕🍩
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10-25-2021, 04:33 PM	#7
80sTrivia Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 23, 2002 Posts: 21,714	So sad to hear of his passing...
	__________________ Perfect Gift Books for Pop Culture Fanatics: Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book The Bouquet Residence: A Keeping Up Appearances Trivia Book Cooking With the Golden Girls: Fun & Delicious Recipes from a Hilarious Miami Kitchen Love in the Afternoon: The Ultimate Soap Opera Trivia Book The Last Great Decade: The Ultimate 90s Trivia Book Betty White: A Celebration

10-25-2021, 09:08 PM	#9
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,589	Friends creators pay tribute to James Michael Tyler “James was a genuinely kind, sweet man," co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane said in a statement honoring the Gunther actor, who died Sunday after battling prostate cancer at age 59. "When he started as an extra on Friends, his unique spirit caught our eye and we knew we had to make him a character. He made Gunther’s unrequited love incredibly relatable. Our heart goes out to his wife, Jennifer Carno.” Meanwhile, Matthew Perry joined his Friends co-stars in paying tribute to Tyler, tweeting this morning: "We lost a good Friend yesterday in James Michael Tyler. Gunther, you will be missed. Read in Peace." ALSO: Tyler landed Gunther role because he knew how to work an espresso machine. James Michael Tyler's Gunther was Friends' most human character, piercing its fantasy Tyler, who died Sunday at age 59 after battling prostate cancer, was more than a background actor -- he imbued his minor character with a "fourth-wall kind of eloquence" and "a sense of ironized self-awareness," says Megan Garber. Tyler "didn’t play Gunther as a side character," says Garber. "He played Gunther, instead, as a character who was sidelined. That made all the difference. Tyler invested Gunther, who was otherwise the stuff of sitcom cliché, with a biting awareness of his own exclusion from the show’s hermetic main group. Gunther is always in their orbit, but never in their world—and he is keenly aware of that disconnect. In the friends’ lives, though no one told you life was gonna be this way, things work out all the same. Not so for Gunther. Through him, reality pierces Friends’ chipper fantasies." Garber adds: "Sitcoms need both stars and background characters to tell their stories, and most supporting characters do not question their sidelining. But Gunther? Gunther is bitter about it. He is an avatar of the casual arbitrariness of the show, and of the friends’ insularity: These six people are deeply incurious about the people who are not part of their little world. On paper, Gunther is often a sap, a tangle of desire and disappointment. In practice, the way Tyler played him, he is the most human character on the show—and arguably its moral rudder. When Chandler reveals that he doesn’t know the full name of the guy he has seen almost every day for years, the joke doesn’t come at Gunther’s expense. It comes at Chandler’s. Tyler didn’t simply communicate Gunther’s frustrations; he deployed them. His performances convey the simmering indignation of being rendered invisible...Much about Gunther, whether his bleach-bright hair or his fluorescent outfits, suggests a deep desire to be the center of attention. And yet the show, on the whole, keeps him relegated to the spaces behind the scenes. Gunther functions, in Friends, as a consequential stranger: a person you might often encounter as you live your life, but whom you don’t, in any meaningful sense, know. Viewers are exposed to him in roughly the same way they might be exposed to the people they casually interact with in everyday life...Gunther is a background character who knows that, in another show, he would have been the star. And although Tyler did not have many lines, he used the ones he did have to give Gunther a fourth-wall kind of eloquence. Particularly as Friends moved into its later seasons, Tyler imbued the character with a sense of ironized self-awareness. To watch Gunther is to suspect that he is watching the proceedings—these blandly telegenic young people, with their blend of cheerful entitlements—at the same time that we are. He’s a viewer, too. He exists in a liminal space, seemingly hovering between the world of the show and the world its audiences inhabit. Tyler gave Gunther the feel of a Greek chorus, or of a narrator: He sees the hijinks onstage for what they are. He knows that Friends is selling a fantasy. But he also knows that he can have his moments inside the illusion." ALSO: Lego pays tribute to James Michael Tyler.
	Last edited by TMC; 10-26-2021 at 06:02 AM.

10-26-2021, 04:46 PM	#10
Dr. Thong a/k/a "ACK!" Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 5,546	I always felt that Rachel should have gone off with Gunther in the series finale -- finally, after all those years of pining away for her from a distance, his waiting would have paid off. I mean, the predictable happened and she went off with Ross. But in all seriousness, I didn't realize he was as old as he was and that he was battling cancer. A sad loss for the Friends family.
	__________________ "Sunday has been cancelled due to lack of interest. That is all."

10-24-2021, 11:22 PM	#3
Bonniegirl AKA Hazel Horvath Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 10, 2014 Posts: 65,860	Oh no !! Not Gunther !! So sad !! I loved him , he was so in love with Rachel and was such a nice guy and she never gave him the time of day !! Very sorry to hear of his passing, much too young and a very beloved , funny character actor on the great show Friends !

10-25-2021, 03:03 AM	#6
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	I found a nice, brief interview with James and Maggie (Janice) in a pop-up recreation of Central Perk from 2019. Just goes to show how fleeting life really is.

10-25-2021, 04:58 PM	#8
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,428	I liked him as Gunther on Friends, I hate to hear that he passed away.