The main one Friends The cast has always been the show's constant focus, so it's no surprise that many viewers failed to notice June Gable playing two roles. Joey's acting agent, Estelle Leonard originally had a scene in “The One with the Butt,” which was cut from the television version. In it, he signed Joey to his agency after seeing his performance in Hate! She has officially joined Friends in the season 2 episode, “The One with Russ”. In it, Joey talks to Estelle about an audition he went to, explaining that he did well, but felt like he would have to sleep with the casting director to get the part. Estelle made a call to Lori (the casting director), which confirmed Joey's suspicions.
The scene gave the audience a sense of what Estelle was all about. Her raspy voice, probably a symptom of her chain-smoking, coupled with her lack of professionalism, made it clear that she would always be a fun character to watch. Her garish makeup and teased hair did little to convince anyone that she was a great agent. Gable's characterization of Estelle made the supporting role stand out. She even appeared in Friends Season 1 as a different character.
Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on September 13, 2024: Friends is still an iconic sitcom, even decades after its premiere. While fans love the six main characters, the series is also known for its many memorable recurring characters, including June Gable's Estelle. This article has been updated to include additional information and to adhere to CBR's current formatting guidelines.
June Gable played a nurse at the beginning of the show and Estelle
Gable's two appearances were separated by less than a year
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Gable was a nurse when Carol gave birth Friends. In the episode, Ross and his friends all go to the hospital, waiting for the big moment to arrive. Ross, the baby's father, and Susan, Carol's current partner, disagree with each other about who has more responsibility, simply because they both want to be a part of the baby's life as much as possible. Other subplots ran through the episode, but it was the main scenario that cast Gable as one of Carol's nurses. This time she wasn't wearing fancy blouses. Instead, she was wearing hospital gowns and glasses that perched on the tip of her nose. Her personality was much more pragmatic than Estelle's, but she had to be quite forceful when she chased some of the group away while Carol gave birth.
Once again, Gable brought humor to the sitcom episode with a seemingly natural talent for conveying sassy characters. Somehow, she managed to make her character stand out in a chaotic episode. While everyone was in a panic over the baby's arrival, and with Susan and Ross making their late entrance, Gable was the clear-headed, no-nonsense nurse who was there to do her job and do it well. While Carol was giving birth, Gable gave the character a softer side that showed she was caring and committed to helping her patients.
The actress has cleverly nailed creating completely different personalities for her two characters on the show. So much so that the audience isn't always aware that Estelle and the nurse are being played by the same person. If she hadn't been able to distinguish between the two, it could have caused some confusion as to why Joey's agent was delivering a baby. Needless to say, Gable was the perfect actor to play two roles without them being related.
Estelle was an important part of Joey's character arc
Estelle helped Joey finally get an acting role
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The characters who were present in practically every episode of Friends were, of course, a major part in making the sitcom a success. But even the smaller supporting roles were essential in making the show popular. Estelle became a pretty big part of Joey's life. He was a budding young actor who needed guidance in getting jobs. It was a big deal for Joey to secure an agent, becoming the next step in his career. Although she wasn't the most prestigious in her field, Estelle helped Joey get auditions for good parts. His decisive role came Days of our lives, as Dr. Drake Ramoray, for which he was a recurring actorand gained recognition from fans and received a “Soapy” award nomination. Joey spent a long time trying to break into the industry, facing rejection and a lull in acting work.
His moment came with Days of our lives, which potentially wouldn't have happened if Estelle hadn't gotten him the audition. Joey wasn't Estelle's only client, as she also had an act with a pyramid of dogs and a paper-eating man named Al Zebooker. Judging by these two acts, she was banking on Joey being successful, as he had the potential to go further. After a period of no communication with Estelle, Joey becomes upset that she isn't pitching him for any roles. Phoebe had read that Estelle had died, but didn't want Joey to find out right away because he was already stressed about the changes that were happening in his life. Phoebe called Joey and impersonated the agent.
Still angry, Joey fired what he thought was Estelle, but later felt guilty for his actions. Joey receives a voice recording that says Estelle is dead, but then he gets another call from Phoebe pretending to be the agent. She explained that there were no hard feelings between them, and Joey felt better with the reassurance, but a little shaken that she was calling from the dead. The scene was a nice way to end Joey's time with Estelle, as it showed that even though she hadn't been the best agent around, Joey still respected her.
Estelle almost appeared first on Friends
Deleted scenes from a season one episode would have introduced Estelle earlier
Although June Gable didn't make her debut as Estelle until the second season of Friendswas originally planned to appear much earlier in the series. In the season one episode “The One with the Butt”, Joey first hires Estelle as his manager, who gets him a job as Al Pacino's “Butt Double” in a movie. Estelle's scenes were ultimately cut from the episode, although Joey mentions her on several occasions throughout the episode. and her presence is still felt. However, in some home and streaming releases, Estelle's scenes are included in the episode.
The original release of “The One with the Butt” would have introduced the character of June Gable before the actress starred as a nurse in “The One with the Birth.” The showrunners' decision to cast Gable as a nurse after cutting her scenes as a different character in an earlier episode may have been an oversight. However, it could also allude to the fact that they didn't know if Estelle Leonard would be a recurring character on the series. Believing that the world would never see Estelle, the producers of Friends might have had no problem casting Gable in another role. However, as audiences now know, Estelle would go on to enjoy a memorable run as a recurring character throughout Friends'entire race.
June Gable recently appeared in Maestro
Gable makes a cameo as an old woman in Maestro
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In an article for Wealth Simple Magazine, Gable explained that he stopped acting for a while after his ten episodes in Friends. The man she loved was ill and she wanted to be there to take care of him, giving credit to the Screen Actors Guild, which meant she could afford it. Fortunately, that wasn't the end of her career. Gable returned to acting, most recently in the Bradley Cooper film Master. In last year's film, she played an unnamed woman. A year earlier, in 2022, she also appeared in Ray Romano's film Somewhere in Queen'swhich scored an impressive 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Gable played the character of Mama Russo.
For many, Friends will always be the show that Gable is best known for. Estelle was a necessary part of Joey's journey and helped the writers further delve into the acting side of his life.away from the main group of friends. The character could have easily blended into the background and become just another random character who didn't have much influence or impact on the show. Gable may have had minor roles in the hit sitcom and wasn't in a huge number of episodes. But what is undeniable, and with the little screen time she had, is that she added something to the show. Her work on Friends they were not redundant, nor were they easily forgettable. Among what has become a very famous cast, she managed to distinguish herself in two separate roles and deserves to be recognized for the skilled performer that she clearly is.