What keeps friends apart for 12 years? Successful careers, or maybe just that "Smelly Cat?"

Five of the six stars from the long-running American TV comedy, "Friends" reunited for one night to salute the driving force behind their sit-com - a television icon named James Burrows.

David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow sat together on stage during the all-star gala reminiscing about their 'friend-ships' and paying tribute to the creator and director of so many hit shows-"Friends" in the 1990s, but also "Cheers," "Fraiser," "Will and Grace," and "Taxi," among others. (See a second video below...)

Matthew Perry, who is currently working on a stage play in London, couldn't attend in person Sunday night but sent a video introducing his co-stars to the stage.

The actors reflected on how working together was the start of actual real-life friendships between them:

"We really just fell in love and adored each other instantly, and would hang out at each other's houses and watched the show together," recalled Aniston, while her cast mates nodded.

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The actress who played Rachael also called the series "the opportunity of a lifetime, and probably the best 10 years of our acting careers."

The five also talked about their favorite episodes-although Smelly Cat, with it's unforgettable song, remained just a memory.

Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat, What are they feeding you? Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat, It's not your fault.

(WATCH the videos from Yahoo! and NBC) - Photo: NBC

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