Imago Stock & People GmbHGregory met ALF
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 11:19
Former child actor Benji Gregory has died at the age of 46. In the 1980s, he was one of the leads in the comedy series ALFregarding an alien being secretly housed by an American family.
In the series, which aired for 104 episodes between 1986 and 1990, Gregory played the role of Brian Tanner, the youngest child in the family. While his sister Lynn was mainly at odds with the loud and maladjusted alien, Brian was particularly fond of him.
Watch the entire first episode of ALF here:
Gregory came from a family of actors, as his father, uncle and sister also worked in show business and his grandmother was his agent. He had previously played with his mischievous head in various commercials and episodes of The A-Team, T.J. Hooker, Fantasy Island in Punky Brewster.
When ALF came to an end, he was not sad regarding it: “It was a relief, because I didn’t want to make any more episodes, although I don’t regret anything.”
Marine
Although he had a few more small TV roles and voice acting work, Gregory joined the Navy as an adult. As a meteorologist, he provided weather reports aboard the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson. He was honorably discharged for medical reasons in 2006.
In recent years, Gregory had struggled with depression, bipolar disorder and sleep problems, said his sister Rebecca, who has now announced that he died on June 13.
According to Rebecca, her brother died during a heat wave in Arizona. He reportedly fell asleep in his car and succumbed to the heat. His service dog also died. An autopsy has yet to determine the final cause of death.
“Ben was a wonderful son, brother and uncle. He was great company and made us laugh a lot,” Rebecca wrote in the message. “He left us far too early.”
Facebook/Rebecca Hertzberg-PfaffingerA recent photo of Gregory