Medical Examiner

How “Alf” child Benji Gregory really died

Willie (Max Wright) and Brian Tanner (Benji Gregory) in the cult series “Alf”(Bild: KPA)

The cause of death for Benji Gregory, the well-known child star from the U.S. series “Alf,” was actually considered clear. But now the medical examiner has revealed a detail regarding the cause of death that apparently contributed to the death of the former actor who played little Brian Tanner.

Gregory was found dead in his car on June 13 in the parking lot of a bank in Peoria, Arizona. The temperature in the area that day was 42 degrees Celsius. Gregory was only 46 years old. His family stated at the time that he had likely fallen asleep in the car and died of heatstroke due to the high temperatures; his dog was also found dead beside him.

Medical Examiner Discovers Undiagnosed Condition
On Friday, the medical examiner’s report was released, revealing that the heat alone was not the cause of death. 

According to U.S. media reports, the Maricopa County medical examiner wrote in his report that Gregory was exposed to “environmental heat stress associated with liver cirrhosis,” which led to his death. The medical examiner’s office has classified the death as accidental. The cause of the liver cirrhosis is unknown.

Gregory had previously struggled with drug problems, which he is said to have overcome with the help of medication. 

100 “Alf” Episodes
In about 100 episodes of “Alf” between 1986 and 1990, Gregory played the cute little boy next door. He played Brian, the son of the Tanner family, in the sitcom, which was also very successful in Austria. The Tanners take in the alien Alf after he accidentally crashes his spaceship into their garage. The shaggy monster from the planet Melmac turns the Tanners’ lives upside down, and Alf (an extraterrestrial life form) also has his sights set on their cat, Lucky, since cats are his favorite food. His trademark also included plenty of cheeky one-liners. In German, the phrase “Null Problemo!” became legendary.

Gregory was eight years old when he took on the role of Brian. The child’s innocent nature was the perfect contrast to the show’s title character, Alf: a shaggy alien who had made himself at home with this middle-class American family and laughed out loud at his own jokes—usually at the expense of others.

A Second Childhood Home
For Benji Gregory, whose real name was Benjamin Gregory Hertzberg, the “Alf” set was his second childhood bedroom, as he told the U.S. magazine “People” in 2000. “It always just felt like work when the spotlights came on and it got really hot.” He still remembers climbing under the stage and goofing around with the crew.

Others involved in the NBC project didn’t have as much fun. Anne Schedeen, who played Kate Tanner, described a joyless atmosphere on set. Whenever Alf was shown standing, walking, or running, the short actor Michu Meszaros was inside the shaggy costume. Often, however, the actors spoke to a puppet. All of these scenes were heavily reliant on special effects.

According to Anne Schedeen, the set was cramped and the studio was sweltering. The relationship between lead actor Max Wright (Willie Tanner) and the rest of the crew, on the other hand, was apparently frosty. On the last day of filming, he reportedly walked out without saying goodbye.

Major Successes Failed to Materialize
Gregory later appeared in other series such as “The A-Team,” “Punky Brewster,” and “Amazing Stories,” but he never achieved major success. According to the industry website imdb.com, he was also employed for a time by the U.S. Navy’s meteorological service.

Of the series’ key cast members, only two are still alive: Anne Schedeen (Kate Tanner) and Andrea Elson, who played her TV daughter Lynn. Max Wright (Willie Tanner) died in 2019, and Alf actor Michu Meszaros passed away in 2016. The actors who played the neighboring couple Trevor and Raquel Ochmonek—John LaMotta and Liz Sheridan—are also no longer with us.