
According to his sister, Benji Gregory, the young actor who played the lead role in the 1980s sitcom “ALF,” passed away at the age of 46.
Gregory’s sister Rebecca Hertzberg-Pfaffinger said on Facebook that her brother was discovered dead in his car on June 13, along with his assistant dog.
His car was parked in a Peoria, Arizona bank lot, according to the New York Times. The family, according to Hertzberg-Pfaffinger, thinks he went there on June 12th evening to deposit some leftover checks that were discovered in his car, but he “never got out of the car to do so.”
She wrote, “He fell asleep and died of vehicular heatstroke.”
According to AccuWeather, Arizona was experiencing a heatwave at the time, with highs of 108 on the 12th and 111 on the 13th.
“Ben was a wonderful uncle, brother, and son. He was entertaining and frequently made us laugh. Even so, while searching through his belongings, his sister noted, “Between sobbing, I find myself giggling at his small videos or notes.”
Although his death on June 13 is noted in Maricopa County Medical Examiner records, the cause and manner of death are still under investigation.
Gregory gained notoriety for his role as the bright-eyed Brian Tanner in the 1986–1990 television series “ALF.” In the program, a furry extraterrestrial from the planet Melmac by the name of Alf (short for “Alien Life Form”) crashed into the Tanner family’s garage in California and was adopted by them.
According to his IMDb profile, Gregory was born Benjamin Gregory Hertzberg on May 26, 1978, in Encino, California. Growing up, he was in front of the camera, making appearances in advertisements. He then made guest appearances on television shows including “The A-Team” and “The Twilight Zone,” as well as appearing in motion pictures like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1986) starring Whoopi Goldberg and “Never Forget” (1991).
But by the end of the 1990s, he had quit acting. According to his IMDb page, he then enlisted in the US Navy and was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.
According to his sister, he was treated for both depression and bipolar disorder and lived with both conditions.