A tragedy for a former child star: Benji Gregory, who played Brian Tanner on the hit ’80s sitcom ALF, was found dead inside his vehicle. He was 46.
Gregory was found dead in his car on June 13, in the parking lot of a bank in Peoria, Arizona. His service dog Hans was with him, also deceased.
In a Facebook post, the former actor’s sister Rebecca Hertzberg-Pfaffinger said that the family believes Gregory went to the bank on the evening of the 12th to deposit residual checks, but fell asleep in his car and died of vehicular heatstroke.
According to TMZ, Gregory suffered from depression, bipolar disorder and had a sleep disorder which could keep him up for days.
“It is with a heavy heart my family has suffered a loss way too early,” his sister wrote. “Ben was a great Son, Brother and Uncle. He was fun to be around and made us laugh quite often. Still, going through his things, I find myself laughing at little videos or notes of his, in between crying.”
Gregory shot to fame when he was just 8 years old, co-starring on the hit NBC sitcom ALF. He played Brian Tanner, the middle child of the family who find and take in the wisecracking alien. ALF was a hit and ran for four seasons.
Gregory also appeared in other TV shows including Fantasy Island, Murphy Brown, The A-Team, The Twilight Zone and T.J. Hooker. He appeared in the film Jumpin’ Jack Flash and provided a voice in the animated Once Upon a Forest.
After his time as a child actor, Gregory left the industry and enlisted in the US Navy in 2003 as an aerographer’s mate. In 2005, he received an honorable medical discharge.
He is the second member of the ALF cast to pass on; Max Wright, who played Willie Tanner on the sitcom, died in 2019.
What a tragic way to go — rest in peace to Benji Gregory, who we will always remember for his performance on ALF. Our thoughts are with his family.
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