The Friends gang may have been made up of six core members, but there were plenty of other characters who made the show what it was.
Gunther, the awkward-yet-loveable owner of Central Perk coffee shop, played by actor James Michael Tyler, was one of those characters.
In honour of Tyler, who died on Sunday from stage 4 prostate cancer at the age of 59, we take a look back at some of his character’s top moments on the show.
His famous one-liners
He may not have said a lot on the show, but whatever Gunther did say always made an impact. In fact, the character’s signature one-liners were often pivotal to the scene, from the time Joey (Matt LeBlanc) asked him if some Porsche keys belonged to him, to which he replied, “Yeah, that’s what I drive, I make $4 an hour, I’d have to have saved up for 450 years”, to the time he called Ross (David Schwimmer) an “ezel” – a donkey, in Dutch.
His unrequited love for Rachel
Gunther’s defining storyline throughout all 10 seasons of Friends was his obsession with Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). From her early days working as a waitress in Central Perk to her many break-ups played out from the coffee house sofa, Gunther was always in the background, ready to be her knight in shining armour, yet he never quite had the courage.
His secret soap star past
When Joey learns his character on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, Dr Drake Ramoray, is about to be killed off by falling down an elevator shaft, Gunther surprises everyone by revealing that he too was a soap opera star.
"That sucks. I was buried in an avalanche," Gunther reveals to Joey. "I used to be Bryce on All My Children."
When he couldn’t tell Joey and Chandler apart
Despite the gang being Gunther’s most regular customers, it took until season 4 for him to be able to tell Joey and Chandler (Matthew Perry) apart. When Joey runs into Central Perk in a hurry looking for Chandler, a confused Gunther replies, “I thought you were Chandler”.
He then follows up by saying: “But um, one of you is over there,” gesturing to where the real Chandler is sat.
When he was confused about Rachel’s hairless cat
When Rachel carries out her childhood dream to buy a hairless, purebred Sphynx cat, she soon realises it’s not the pet she hoped it would be, even declaring it “pure evil”. However, she soon finds someone willing to take it off her hands in Gunther, who pays a whopping $1,500 for Mrs Whiskerson, in the hopes that Rachel might come to visit.
After popping round to Rachel’s apartment to pick up the cat’s red velvet pillow, he turns to Ross and asks: “So what is this, some kind of snake or something?”
When Phoebe kisses him so she can catch his cold
Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) uses Central Perk as her stage, and when her singing voice drops a few octaves thanks to a cold, she likes how it makes her sound, so when her cold clears and her voice goes back to normal, she tries to catch another cold. When Gunther happens to sneeze near her, he is given the shock of his life when she shouts “Gunther, kiss me”, before grabbing his face and pulling him in. Needless to say, unlucky-in-love Gunther is more than a little flustered.
Finally telling Rachel how he felt
And Friends couldn’t complete its run without seeing Gunther finally tell Rachel how he feels, and that’s exactly what he does in the final episode, confessing his feelings before Rachel plans to move to Paris. In the process, he unwittingly steals Ross’s thunder, who had planned to do the same thing.
"I know you're leaving tonight, but I just have to tell you. I love you. I ... I don't know if that changes your plans at all? But I thought you should know,” he says.
To which an emotional Rachel replies, "Gunther. Oh, I love you too. Probably not in the same way, but I do. And when I'm in a cafe, having coffee, or I see a man with hair brighter than the sun, I'll think of you."
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Newcastle United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2
Tottenham (Alli 61'), Davies (70')
Red card Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle)
