Television: He was Brian Tanner: “Alf” star dies at 46

As Brian Tanner from the cult series “Alf,” he became an international child star in the 1980s. Now, US actor Benji Gregory has died unexpectedly at the age of just 46. He was found dead in his car on June 13 in the parking lot of a bank in Peoria, Arizona, his sister told the “TMZ” portal. The “New York Times” and other US media also reported on the death. The family suspects that he fell asleep in the car and died of heat stroke due to the high temperatures, they also wrote on Facebook.

Television series “Alf” also became a hit in Germany

In around 100 “Alf” episodes between 1986 and 1990, Gregory was the cute little boy next door. He played Brian, the son of the Tanner family in the sitcom. The family takes in the alien Alf after he accidentally crashes his spaceship into their garage. The shaggy monster from the planet Melmac turns the Tanners’ lives into a mess, and Alf (the alien life form) also wants to get their cat Lucky, because cats are his favorite food. His trademark also included lots of cheeky sayings. In German, the phrase “Null Problemo!” became legendary.

Childhood in the “Alf” setting

Gregory was eight years old when he took on the role of Brian. The child’s innocent nature was the ideal contrast to the title character Alf: a shaggy alien who had taken up residence in a middle-class American family and laughed loudly at his own jokes – usually at the expense of others.

For Benji Gregory, whose real name was Benjamin Gregory Hertzberg, the “Alf” set was his second childhood bedroom, as he told the US magazine “People” in 2000. “It only ever felt like work when the lights came on and it got really hot.” He still remembers climbing under the stage and joking around with the crew.

Hot spotlights, frosty atmosphere

Others involved in the NBC project had less fun. Anne Schedeen, who played mother Kate Tanner, reported a joyless atmosphere on set. When Alf was seen standing, walking or running, the small actor Michu Meszaros was in a shaggy costume. But often the actors spoke to a puppet. All shots were heavily dominated by special effects.

According to Anne Schedeen, the set was cramped and the heat in the studio was intense. However, the relationship between lead actor Max Wright (Willie Tanner) and the rest of the crew was obviously frosty. On the last day of filming, he is said to have left without saying goodbye.

German speaker: That touches me too

The unexpected death of the former child star Gregory also hits his German voice actor hard. “It’s been 37 years since my role as Brian Tanner in the hit series “Alf,” Gregory’s German voice, Dirk Meyer, told the German Press Agency in Munich. “The series “Alf” was very successful at the end of the 1980s and my participation in it was my start in my career as a voice actor, which I still do today,” said Meyer. “I was just eleven years old at the time and was still at school. It was an exciting experience for me as a child. The early death of the US actor Benji Gregory is regrettable and touches me too.” Gregory’s character was his “first full-time role in a hit series.”

Gregory later appeared in other series such as “The A-Team,” “Punky Brewster” and “Amazing Stories,” but he never achieved great success. According to the industry portal imdb.com, he also worked for a time in the weather service of the US Navy.

Most of the series’ key actors have already died

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