Mourning for Benji Gregory: This is what the other “Alf” actors are doing today

More than 30 years ago, the sitcom “Alf” was a huge success. The alien from the planet Melmac took the hearts of TV viewers by storm. It has now been announced that Benji Gregory (1978-2024), who played Brian Tanner, has died at the age of just 46. After the series ended in 1990, he only appeared in small TV roles, such as in “The Shame of Oblivion” (1991) and “Murphy Brown” (1991). He finally turned his back on acting in the early 2000s and joined the US Navy. In 2005, he was honorably discharged from the Navy. The reason is said to have been health problems. Many of his “Alf” colleagues also led lives away from the TV landscape after the end of the sitcom.

Lynn Tanner is now a yoga teacher

His sister Lynn Tanner, played by Andrea Elson (55), has also turned away from acting. After the end of the sitcom, she had small supporting roles in several series. She appeared in “Who’s the Boss?” (1990), “Married with Children” (1993) and “The Young and the Restless” (1998), among others. Since 1993, she has been married to production assistant Scott Hopper, whom she met on the “Alf” set and whose last name she took. She now calls herself Annie Hopper. The couple have two children and live in California, where the former actress runs a yoga studio.

Anne Schedeen (75) also gave up her acting career pretty quickly after the end of “Alf”. She played the mother of the family, Kate Tanner. Before this role, she was a busy TV actress. In the 1970s and 1980s, she appeared in numerous TV productions, such as “The Incredible Hulk” (1979) and “Herzknabe mit zwei Damen” (1978-1982). After “Alf”, the offers became fewer. In the early 2000s, she appeared in three episodes of “Für alle Falle Amy”. In 2014, she made an appearance in the . Then things went quiet for the actress. She later used her fame as an ambassador for the Bulgarian .

Mourning for Max Wright

In 2019, fans mourned the loss of “Alf” star Max Wright (1943-2019). The actor who played family head Willie Tanner died at the age of 75 after a long battle with cancer. After his success as Willie Tanner, he appeared in other TV productions, such as “Friends” (1994-1995) and “Stephen King’s The Stand” (1994). He was also a successful theater actor and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1998.

Alf still makes cameo appearances

Alf himself is still at home in the TV landscape even after more than 30 years. Several people breathed life into the furry alien. This included series creator Paul Fusco (71) himself, who operated the Alf puppet and lent him his voice in the original. The 71-year-old still does this, as Alf has had cameo appearances in various series in recent years. In 2016, for example, Alf was seen in the thriller series “Mr. Robot” alongside Rami Malek (43). In 2019, he appeared in “Young Sheldon”. In the episode of the second season of the “The Big Bang Theory” spin-off, Alf receives a fan letter from Sheldon’s sister Missy (Raegan Revord, 16). Fusco also lent him his voice in Alf’s last appearance in “The Simpsons” in 2023.

In the German dubbing, Alf was voiced by Tommi Piper (83) both in the sitcom and in his appearances in “Young Sheldon” and “Mr. Robot”. Piper works as a voice actor and actor. But he has struggled with Alf. In 2001, he said in one that Alf had “done him more harm than good”. “‘Alf’ has stuck with me forever,” said Piper. In 2019, he moved to the jungle camp.

Alf was also temporarily portrayed by the dwarf actor Michu Meszaros (1939-2016), who died in 2016 at the age of 76.