James Michael Tyler, who was best known for his role on Friends, would earn thousands of dollars per episode as Gunther, manager of the Central Perk coffee house.
The actor starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, who were paid hundreds of thousands for their roles.
Fans of the show were sad to hear of the passing of actor James this week, particularly those who worked with him or were fans of TV show Friends.
Tyler played Gunther, who was known for being desperately in love with Aniston’s character Rachel Green.
He passed away at the age of 59 due to stage 4 prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
His family said: “The world knew him as Gunther, but Michael’s loved ones knew him as an actor, musician, cancer-awareness advocate, and loving husband.” He is survived by his wife Jennifer Carno.
James Michael Tyler’s net worth
(Image: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“It was the most memorable 10 years of my life, honestly,” Tyler said of his Friends career which was the biggest contributor to his estimated net worth of £2.9million.
He was reportedly paid an increasing amount over his tenure with the show and was originally estimated to be earning around £3,600 per episode.
This eventually increased to £7,000, then £14,000 and £21,000. By the time the show reached the seventh season, it was estimated that Tyler was earning around £28,000 per episode appearance.
Speaking about the money he earned, he told BANG Showbiz: “I’m very happy if I get a residual cheque, I do get residuals.
“I wasn’t paid a million dollars an episode, of course, that would be a completely different story. I’m paid for episodes I spoke in and it’s a sliding scale, I don’t know how it works.
“Very fortunately I’m not an accountant, I just stay completely out of that. I’m fortunate to have a supplement into my income because of Friends, however, I’m still a working actor.
“I didn’t rest on my laurels and say, ‘I was Gunther, I’m gonna buy an island!’ I couldn’t do that anyway.”
He appeared in 148 of Friends’ 236 episodes.
It is also likely that Tyler earned a fair chunk of the prize when the show was sold to feature on other networks.
Acting career
Tyler featured on the reunion of Friends broadcast earlier this year, though was unable to attend in person due to ill-health.
His “bright as the sun” hair (as described Rachel on the show) was a happy accident.
He told E!: “I was just a coffee guy for a year and a half. I came in with bleached blonde hair — that had happened the night before, because my friend was practicing to be a stylist, so that was accidental. It was the happiest accident, mistake, I ever made in my life.”
He also featured as a therapist in comedy drama Scrubs and in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
Courtney Cox, who played Friends’ Monica Geller, said in tribute: “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.”
Jennifer Aniston said: “Thank you for the laughter you brought to the show and to all of our lives. You will be so missed.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
