The cast of Friends paid tribute to James Michael Tyler today following the announcement of his death yesterday after his three year battle with cancer. The 59 year old revealed his diagnosis back in June following the Friends Reunion special aired on HBO Max the previous month with his notable absence other than a very short virtual appearance. As fans around the world came to terms with the loss of the popular actor, who appeared as Gunther in all ten seasons of the series, the stars of the show came out to say their own words of gratitude for having worked with Tyler, and sorrow at the news of his passing.

Jennifer Aniston posted a video clip from the 2004 series finale when Gunther finally plucked up the courage to tell Rachel that he loved her as she prepared to leave New York for a new life in Paris, along with a single picture of the actor. She commented, "Friends would not have been the same without you. Thank you for the laughter you brought to the show and to all of our lives. You will be so missed." Her post was liked by over 5 million of Aniston's followers, with hundreds adding their own thoughts and condolences on the back of the post.

David Schwimmer posted the same image, writing, "James, thank you for playing such a wonderful, unforgettable role in Friends and for being such a big hearted gentleman and all around mensch off screen. You will be missed, buddy."

Scream star Courteney Cox followed this up with her own thoughts on having worked with James Michael Tyler. "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. Rest In peace James."

Lisa Kudrow simply posted, "James Michael Tyler, we will miss you. Thank you for being there for us all."

Matthew Perry, took to his Twitter account to add his thoughts, saying, "We lost a good Friend yesterday in James Michael Tyler. Gunther, you will be missed. Read in Peace."

And Joey actor Matt LeBlanc said, "We had a lot of laughs buddy. You will be missed. RIP my friend."

Tyler appeared in almost 150 episodes of Friends, becoming well known among fans of the show as the "7th Friend." After receiving the diagnosis about his condition in 2018, he began a private battle against the disease which was almost at its end by the time he let the world know in June this year. Appearing on the TODAY show via video, Tyler said, "I was 56 years old at the time, and they screen for PSA, which is prostate-specific antigen. That came back at an extraordinarily high number. So I knew immediately when I went online and I saw the results of my blood test and blood work that there was obviously something quite wrong there. Nearly immediately, my doctor called me and said, 'Hey, I need you to come in tomorrow because I suspect that you may have quite a serious problem with your prostate.'"

He added in relation to the Friends Reunion, "I wanted to be a part of that, and initially I was going to be on the stage, at least, with them, and be able to take part in all the festivities," he said. "It was bittersweet, honestly. I was very happy to be included. It was my decision not to be a part of that physically and make an appearance on Zoom, basically, because I didn't wanna bring a downer on it, you know? I didn't want to be like, 'Oh, and by the way, Gunther has cancer.'"

Condolences once again go out to Tyler's Friends co-stars and his friends and family at this sad time.