Friends Actors We've Sadly Lost

When "Friends" first aired in 1994, it took us on a journey. The show centered around Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross, and Joey — six twenty-somethings trying to navigate dating, careers, and, of course, life in The Big Apple. The iconic series ran for ten years and gave birth to pop-cultural staples like "Smelly Cat," the Rachel haircut, and the Holiday Armadillo. With its hilarious characters and unforgettable gags, the series has aged incredibly well — and thanks to streaming platforms, it's continuously finding new crops of fans. 

"Friends" skyrocketed the profiles of the main cast — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc — and the series arguably remains their greatest claim to fame. In addition to the core co-stars, the series welcomed an enormous roster of fabulous guest stars and minor characters. But, decades after its premiere, a lot has transpired in the lives of former "Friends" actors. Unfortunately, some of the cast is no longer with us. From dearly departed minor characters to the tragic death of one core cast member, we're taking a look back at all of the "Friends" actors that we've sadly lost over the years.

"Friends" fans will remember the episode "The One with All the Poker," in which Ross and Monica's Aunt Iris teaches Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe how to play poker. The cardshark Aunt Iris was played by Beverly Garland in a guest role, but TV viewers may also remember the actress from her extensive list of credits in shows like "My Three Sons," "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," "Port Charles," and "7th Heaven," as well as several films including "Where the Red Fern Grows," "Sixth and Main," "It's My Turn," and "Death Falls."

Garland died in 2008 at the age of 82, four years after she ended her acting career with her final episode of "7th Heaven." A decade after her passing, Garland gained another acting credit in "The Forsaken Westerns," which consists of never-before-aired episodes of western TV shows as well as unaired pilots.

Jack Ong was only in one scene of "Friends," but it was a noteworthy one. The actor played Andrew, a scientist who works alongside Ross at the museum. Ong had a few lines during the scene in "The One With Phoebe's Uterus," in which Ross breaks down social barriers at work.

At the time of Ong's appearance on "Friends," he'd been acting for more than two decades but hadn't landed many large roles. Most of his TV appearances, like his part on "Friends," were guest spots on shows such as "Hunter," "Days of Our Lives," "Chicago Hope," "Life with Roger," and "Beverly Hills 90210." Ong's final television appearance was playing Mr. Yi on "General Hospital" from 2011 to 2012.

Ong stepped back from acting after that but continued to lead a busy life before he died from a brain tumor in 2017 at the age of 76. Per his obituary on Legacy, the actor had a background in public relations and marketing, was an accomplished photojournalist and community organizer, and also served his church as a pastor.

In the early seasons of "Friends," Joey, Chandler, Rachel, and Monica have a grumpy older neighbor named Mr. Heckles. While Mr. Heckles dies on the show, the actor who played him, Larry Hankin, is still with us. Sadly, Danny Dayton, who played Mr. Heckles' attorney, Buddy Doyle, is not. Dayton appears as Doyle in a scene from "The One Where Heckles Dies" in which he reveals that Mr. Heckles left all of his possessions to Rachel and Monica – aka "the noisy girls who live in the apartment above mine."

The 1995 appearance on "Friends" was one of Dayton's final acting parts, as he died of emphysema just a few years later in 1999 at the age of 75. Dayton had a long and successful career that included such notable credits as "Guys and Dolls," "Wonder Woman," and "All in the Family." As noted by his obituary in The New York Times, Dayton was also an accomplished director who won three Clio awards for his commercial work.

Charlton Heston is one of the more famous guest stars to have appeared on "Friends," and that's truly saying something considering the number of venerated names that appeared on the hit series. The Hollywood veteran appeared as himself in the episode "The One with Joey's Dirty Day." In the episode, Joey works on a film with Heston and gets caught in the actor's dressing room where Heston gives him some acting advice.

Heston was a Hollywood legend who needed no introduction when he appeared on "Friends." Some of his iconic films include "The Ten Commandments," "Antony and Cleopatra," and "Planet of the Apes." Heston's long acting career ended in 2003 with the film "My Father," although he's credited with one more appearance after his death, 2010's "Genghis Khan: The Story of a Lifetime." 

Heston died in 2008 at the age of 84 of Alzheimer's Disease.

Considering that Alice Drummond's "Friends" character is on her deathbed when we see her on the show, many people may not realize that the acting veteran was on the sitcom at all. Drummond appeared as Ross and Monica's grandmother in "The One Where Nana Dies Twice," in which Ross and Monica pay their respects to their deceased Nana. Drummond doesn't even appear in the episode's credits for the non-speaking role, although a 2016 obituary from news.com.au mentions the cameo.

Drummond may not have shown off her acting chops in her minor role on "Friends," but she did flex them throughout her long career. Drummond's many acting credits include roles in "Dark Shadows," "Where the Heart Is," "Another World," "Ghostbusters," "Night Court," "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar," "Pieces of April," "The Honeymooners," and "Furry Vengeance." Playbill noted that she was also an accomplished stage actress who was nominated for a Tony for her role in the Broadway play "The Chinese and Dr. Fish." 

Drummond retired from acting in 2011 and was 88 when she died in 2016.

If you don't remember Heathcote Williams' appearance on "Friends," you're forgiven. He only appeared briefly, after all, but his character sets a lot in motion. Williams played a wedding guest at "The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 2," and kicks off the romance between Monica and Chandler when he drunkenly mistakes Monica for Ross' mother. Chandler assures Monica that she is young and beautiful and, well, "Friends" fans know what happens next: They end up in bed together and eventually get married and start a family.

Williams appeared in many films and shows over his career including "The Tempest," "The Odyssey," "The Legend of 1900," "Lover's Prayer," and "Dinotopia," but acting wasn't his only claim to fame. Per Williams' 2017 obituary in The Guardian, the "Friends" actor was also a celebrated writer whose work included plays, pamphlets, and poems. Among his many other accomplishments were fire-eating, discovering a species of wasp, and helping found the newspaper Suck. He died at the age of 75 "after an extended period of ill health."

One of the running jokes on "Friends" centers on Ross and his chaotic love life. The show opens with him in the midst of a divorce, and he proceeds to get married two more times on "Friends." Enter Ron Glass, who played Ross' lawyer, Russell, in "The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel" and "The One Where Joey Loses His Insurance." Even Russell is shocked when Ross gets married yet again, and gives him advice on how to have his third marriage, to Rachel, annulled.

Glass was a prolific actor with a long list of credits. Some notable roles include parts in shows such as "Barney Miller," "The New Odd Couple," "Rhythm & Blues," "Teen Angel," and "Firefly." Glass was also an accomplished voice actor, whose voice you may have heard in a number of shows including "Rugrats" and "The Proud Family."

Glass died at the age of 71 in 2016.

James Michael Tyler played Gunther, the manager of Central Perk and not-so-secret admirer of Rachel Green. Gunther was best known for his platinum-blonde buzzcut and for having hilarious outbursts when other men paid attention to Rachel. He made 159 appearances on the show cementing him as an essential figure in the "Friends" universe. Prior to slinging coffees at Central Perk, Tyler worked as an actual barista — and he continued to do so for several years during his run on the sitcom. "I kept my day job, in other words, because I never knew if they were going to bring me back," Tyler told BuzzFeed in 2014. Tyler's popularity soared along with his "Friends" character, and he went on to appear in several more television series.

In 2021, Tyler revealed that he was battling prostate cancer. "It's stage 4. Late stage cancer," the actor shared with "Today" (via Rolling Stone). "So eventually, you know, it's gonna probably get me." Sadly, he died from the disease on October 24, 2021, at the age of 59. Fans and colleagues alike paid tribute to the iconic "Friends" star. "The world knew him as Gunther (the seventh "Friend"), but Michael's loved ones knew him as an actor, musician, cancer-awareness advocate, and loving husband," announced his manager, Toni Benson (via NPR). "Michael loved live music, cheering on his Clemson Tigers, and would often find himself in fun and unplanned adventures. If you met him once, you made a friend for life."

Ron Leibman played the role of Rachel Green's father, Dr. Leonard Green. Despite his brash and occasionally pompous behavior, Dr. Green was an unforgettable character — not to mention a doting father to Rachel. In real life, the man behind the cheeky cardiologist was a celebrated actor with an illustrious entertainment career. 

Leibman was already a star before making his mark on "Friends." Having started his career in the 1960s, he was known for "Kaz," "Pacific Station," "Slaughterhouse-Five," and more. In 1993, he scored a Tony award for his performance in the play "Angels in America." In 2011, Leibman opened up about his experience on the set of "Friends," telling AV: "Most of my stuff was with Jennifer [Aniston] and David [Schwimmer], which was terrific because I really like them both. But when I first came on, I didn't know who was who, because I'd never seen the show. So I started talking to Lisa Kudrow, thinking she was Jennifer Aniston. I had no idea."

Leibman died on December 6, 2019, at the age of 82. The iconic television, film, and Broadway performer was honored by his colleagues, including fellow icon Sally Field, who wrote on social media: "So many of the best memories of my career, have Ron Leibman in them. Thank you, Ron. For my being my champion. Rest, my friend" (via Sky News).

"Friends" fanatics will remember Fred Willard as Dean Lipson, the cheeky zoo administrator who almost tricks Ross into believing that his former pet monkey, Marcel, has died. In real life, Willard was a formidable comedy actor who claimed his place at the top of the pop cultural zeitgeist. The legendary funnyman was known for his appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Fernwood 2Nite," "Everybody Loves Raymond," the "Anchorman" movies, and many more. In addition to his comedy chops, Willard was known for his warmth and enthusiasm, which earned him a gleaming reputation in the industry.

Willard died of cardiac arrest on May 15, 2020, aged 86. Upon his death, fans and fellow entertainers honored his larger-than-life legacy with a wave of tributes.  Willard's "Anchorman" co-star Christina Applegate shared her grief on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing: "Gutted. His immense talent and kindness will never be forgotten. We love you, Fred Willard. Thank you for the decades of laughter." Ben Stiller tweeted: "Fred Willard was a brilliant comic actor and improviser. He could make anything funny. His work goes down as some of the funniest ever ... he inspired and influenced so many people in comedy."