'Friends' cast cliqued from the beginning, producers say

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

The cast of "Friends" says adieu May 6. New episodes begin airing tonight. NBC 'Friends' New episode: "The One Where Estelle Dies" 7 tonight

"The stars aligned correctly," she says. "Something clicked."

Executive producers Kauffman, David Crane and Kevin Bright were fresh from a failed pilot. They'd had one success (HBO's "Dream On"). They would later draw shrugs for "Jesse" and "Veronica's Closet."

But for "Friends," everything worked, starting with the casting of the six stars. "There is a certain amount of magic that is inexplicable (with) the combination," Kauffman says.

None of the six was hot. Collectively, they had been regulars in 13 failed series. This time, they seemed to fit the format perfectly.

The idea for "Friends" began when Kauffman and Crane saw a coffee shop where young adults met. That was in Los Angeles, but they decided to set the show in New York.

"We all had a time when we lived in New York," Kauffman recalled in 1995. "We remembered it as a time of friends and fun."

Their previous failed pilot had three couples. This one had six mix-and-match people, with broad possibilities. "What happens to them through the course of the series is stuff that could happen to anyone — you know, love and relationships and jobs," Kauffman said just before the show started in 1994.

The tough part was finding attractive people with comic timing. "That's a very difficult combination," Lori Openden, then NBC's casting chief, said at the time.

She pushed for Jennifer Aniston ("someone I had been interested in for years") and David Schwimmer. Others fell into place.

There were close calls. Jon Cryer sent an audition tape from London. It was lost in the mail and Matthew Perry got the job. Leah Remini came close to getting the role of Monica. Courteney Cox got the job and Remini later got a guest role on the show.

Lisa Kudrow originally had been cast as Roz in "Frasier" but was then replaced. She also had a recurring role as Ursula, a ditzy waitress on "Mad About You." For "Friends," she would be Ursula's twin sister.

Aniston was committed to a CBS show, "Muddling Through." NBC took a chance by putting her in the "Friends" pilot, hoping the other would fold. It did. The six stars seemed to fit.

That was helpful, Schwimmer says now. "We just liked each other from the beginning."

In the early days, Cox says, the cast camaraderie carried off the set. "We used to watch the show together, every Thursday." But then family and other responsibilities crept in.

Producers paid attention to their personalities. "They took us all out separately (and) asked us about our lives and stuff," Matthew Perry says.

Characters were written to fit the actors. Some evolved in ways that surprised the producers.

"I'd say Joey, especially," Kauffman said in '95. "Matt LeBlanc gave him so much heart. He's so sensitive, so loving.

"Then there's what Lisa Kudrow has done with Phoebe. We didn't know what we were going to do with that character."

Phoebe had troubles, triplets, and got married. "Friends" evolved, and the stars aligned.

'Friends' quiz

1. How many times has Ross been married?

2. What rock star once joined Phoebe in a rendition of "Smelly Cat" at the Central Perk?

1. Sheryl Crow
2. Chrissie Hynde
3. Courtney Love
4. Gwen Stefani

3. What was Monica's nickname when she was a field hockey goalie?

4. What was the game question that made Monica and Rachel lose their apartment to Joey and Chandler?

5. Identify the name of the East German laundry detergent that Rachel used when learning how to wash clothes.

6. What's the name of Chandler's dad's burlesque show?

7. How did Joey's "Days of Our Lives" character exit the soap?

8. Which of these celebs have not guest-starred on the show?

1. Christina Applegate
2. Reese Witherspoon
3. Winona Ryder
4. Carmen Electra

9. Which '80s pop star do Ross and Chandler agree not to sleep with because it would ruin their friendship?

10. Where did we first meet Ursula, Phoebe's twin sister?

Answers:

1. Three

2. (B) Chrissie Hynde

3. Big Fat Goalie

4. "What does Chandler do for a living?"

5. Uberveiss

6. Viva Las Gaygas!

7. He fell down an elevator shaft

8. (D) Carmen Electra

9. Sheena Easton

10. As a waitress on "Mad About You"