Jennifer Aniston leads tributes as James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther in Friends, dies at 59

Published

3 years ago

October 25, 2021

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Jennifer Aniston has led the tributes to Friends star James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther, following his death from cancer at the age of 59.

Gunther was one of the best-loved background characters of the hit comedy series, running the Central Perk coffee house the six main characters spent lots of their time in – and famously had a long-running and unrequited crush on Aniston‘s character, Rachel Green.

Tyler died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on Sunday morning, a statement from his manager said, after being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2018.

Aniston and other Friends stars Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc have all shared tributes, photos and clips of the actor on social media.

“Friends would not have been the same without you,” Aniston said. “Thank you for the laughter you brought to the show and to all of our lives. You will be so missed.”

“Thank you for being there for us all,” Kudrow posted, while LeBlanc said: “We had a lot of laughs buddy.”

Cox 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.”

Paying tribute, Tyler’s manager said: “If you met him once you made a friend for life. [He] is survived by his wife, Jennifer Carno, the love of his life.”

It added: “Wanting to help as many people as possible, he bravely shared his story and became a campaigner for those with a prostate to get a… blood test as early as 40 years old.”

After Friends ended in 2004, Tyler appeared in Scrubs and Modern Music, and played himself in LeBlanc’s Episodes in 2012.

After he was diagnosed with cancer, he starred in two short films while undergoing treatment and gave a spoken word performance of the Stephan Kalinich poem If You Knew to raise awareness for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

During an interview on the Today Show in June, Tyler revealed he was unable to attend Friends: The Reunion in person due to his condition.

“I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, which had spread to my bones,” he told the programme at the time.

“I’ve been dealing with that diagnosis for almost the past three years. It’s stage 4 (now). Late stage cancer. So eventually, you know, it’s gonna probably get me.”

Tyler said he underwent hormone therapy at first, which “worked amazingly for about a year”, allowing him to live normally on just three pills a day. But following a missed test, his cancer spread to his bones, leaving his lower body paralysed.

He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Carno.

Entertainment

Stars say Kevin Spacey should return to acting after ‘seven years of exile’

Published

6 hours ago

May 16, 2024

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Stars say Kevin Spacey should return to acting after 'seven years of exile'

Hollywood stars have begun campaigning for Kevin Spacey to resume his acting career “after seven years of exile”.

Sharon Stone, Liam Neeson and Stephen Fry are among the names speaking up for the Oscar-winner following the release of a Channel 4 documentary levelling fresh allegations against 64-year-old Spacey, which he denies.

The Oscar-winning actor was one of Hollywood’s biggest names when allegations of sexual misconduct were made in 2017, leading Netflix to cut all ties with him at the height of his House of Cards fame.

Despite being acquitted of numerous sexual offences after a trial in London, and winning a US civil lawsuit in which he was accused of making an unwanted sexual advance, Spacey said he still feels ostracised from the industry.

Basic Instinct star Stone told the Telegraph: “I can’t wait to see Kevin back at work. He is a genius. He is so elegant and fun, generous to a fault, and knows more about our craft than most of us ever will.”

The 66-year-old said it was clear aspiring actors had “wanted and want to be around him”.

She added: “It’s terrible that they are blaming him for not being able to come to terms with themselves for using him and negotiating with themselves because they didn’t get their secret agendas.”

Taken and Star Wars actor Neeson, 71, told the paper: “Kevin is a good man and a man of character. Personally speaking, our industry needs him and misses him greatly.”

British actor and writer Fry said Spacey had been both “clumsy and inappropriate” on many occasions, but to “devote a whole documentary to accusations that simply do not add up to crimes… how can that be considered proportionate and justified?”

The 66-year-old said Spacey’s reputation had been “wrecked”, adding: “Surely it is wrong to continue to batter a reputation on the strength of assertion and rhetoric rather than evidence and proof?

“Unless I’m missing something, I think he has paid the price.”

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “Spacey Unmasked is an important film exploring the balance of power and inappropriate behaviour in a work environment, aiming to give a voice to those who have previously been unable to speak out.”

Spacey won two Academy Awards as best supporting actor for The Usual Suspects in 1996 and best actor in 2000 for American Beauty, which also scored him a BAFTA for leading actor.

Last year, Spacey was found not guilty by a jury of nine sexual offences alleged by four men between 2001 and 2013 after a trial in London.

He also won a US civil lawsuit in October 2022, after being accused of an unwanted sexual advance at a party in 1986.

Spacey says he has struggled to get work despite his acquittals, branding his experience a “life sentence”.

Entertainment

Rust weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez appeals against conviction over fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin film set

Published

18 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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Rust weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez appeals against conviction over fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin film set

The weapons supervisor for the Western film Rust is appealing against her conviction for involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on set, according to court documents.

Hannah Gutierrez was jailed in April after being found guilty by jurors following a trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the US.

She was in charge of weapons during the production of the film in October 2021, when a Colt 45 revolver fired by actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin went off during a rehearsal.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died, while director Joel Souza was injured.

A defence lawyer for Gutierrez, who is serving an 18-month sentence at a prison for women in New Mexico, filed a shortly worded appeal notice on Monday.

Her legal team has 30 days to submit detailed arguments. They previously requested a new trial following the verdict.

Gutierrez’s trial was told she unwittingly brought live ammunition to the set, where it was expressly prohibited, and failed to follow basic gun safety protocols.

During her sentencing hearing, she told the court she had tried to do her best while working on the production, despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing”.

Alec Baldwin case latest

Baldwin, who was a producer for the film as well as its star, has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

He maintains he pulled back the gun’s hammer – but not the trigger – before it fired, and is set to face trial in July. He denies any wrongdoing.

The 66-year-old was originally charged in January 2023, more than a year after the shooting, but those charges were dropped a few months later. He was charged again in January this year.

His legal team has filed a motion calling for the charges to be dropped. Prosecutors responded with a 32-page document claiming that footage of the star on set shows he had “absolutely no control of his own emotions” and “no concern for how his conduct” affected those around him.

Assistant director David Halls, who also faced charges, entered a plea bargain for negligent use of a deadly weapon last year, receiving a six-month suspended sentence.

Filming of Rust resumed last year in Montana – with Baldwin reprising his role as the main character – after an agreement made Ms Hutchins’s widower an executive producer.

Entertainment

Super Gran star Gudrun Ure dies aged 98

Published

18 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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Gudrun Ure, the star of hit 1980s children’s TV show Super Gran, has died aged 98.

Ure’s portrayal of Granny Smith – who gained superpowers after being struck by a magic ray – won her legions of fans across the globe.

Her death was confirmed by her niece, Kate McNeill.

Ure was born in Milton of Campsie, East Dunbartonshire, on 12 March 1926.

As an actress she starred as Desdemona in a 1951 stage production of Othello, directed by Hollywood legend Orson Welles. She also re-dubbed Suzanne Cloutier’s performance in Welles’ film adaptation.

Ure appeared in other television shows, including Casualty, Midsomer Murders, The Crow Road, The 10th Kingdom, and T-Bag and the Pearls of Wisdom.

However, it was her role in Super Gran that elevated her to cult status.

The show, based on a series of books written by Forrest Wilson, saw Ure’s character use her powers to protect the residents of Chiselton from a series of villains, including the scheming Roderick ‘Scunner’ Campbell and his gang.

Many guest stars appeared on the programme, including George Best, Spike Milligan, Eric Bristow, Roy Kinnear and comedian Billy Connolly, who also sang the theme song.