The actor James Michael Tyler died of cancer at the age of 59, leaving behind grieving relatives and colleagues, but he also and forever leaves a memorial called Gunther. Just a few bare measurement data reveal a lot about this indispensable figure in the ensemble of the major global television event “Friends”. The silent waiter Gunther was seen in 185 of the 236 episodes of the American sitcom, making it more frequent than anyone else outside of the main cast. He was there from the beginning and yet it wasn’t by chance until episode 33 before he was allowed to say at least one word for the first time: “Yeah”.
He loves her, of course. And she doesn’t know, of course. James Michael Tyler and Jennifer Aniston in “Friends”.
(Photo: imago images / Everett Collection)
The entire Gunther was pretty much the opposite of Yeah. He wore shirts of strange colors that were fading behind even more hideous ties. The hair that lined his balding head was the color of accident platinum blonde. Gunther was always in the picture, always on duty, just never in the service of himself. The “Central Perk” café that he kept running did not belong to him. A private life of his was not known. Neither is a surname. The narcissists he served let him know again and again in cold blood what he was, namely a Weirdo, a loser.
Gunther was the only one whose longing was not fulfilled
But the world is full of losers and Tyler built a monument to them in the figure of Gunther. For those who don’t know the “Friends” plot better than the relationship boxes of their best friends: Gunther was madly in love with Rachel. But Ross was the one who was with Rachel. Rachel was the one who EVERYONE wanted to marry immediately, and not just because she practically stumbled into the scene in bridal fashion right at the S01E01 start of the series and thus immediately into puckering audience hearts worldwide.
In the constant presence of his love interests Gunther remained the one whose longing was not fulfilled, for example. As a potentially severely depressed morality singer, he whimpered, mostly overlooked by the consequences, and stood by his love for Rachel, knowing that it would never be reciprocated. Gunther was a prisoner for life in the “Friends” zone – and thus much closer to his audience than any of the very, very happy title heroes by comparison.