The cause of death has been disclosed for Benji Gregory, the former child star of ALF, who died at age 46 earlier this summer. On June 13, the actor was discovered deceased in his car at a Chase Bank parking lot in Peoria, Arizona, alongside his service dog, Hans.
Per TMZ, the Maricopa County Medical Examiner concluded that Gregory’s death resulted from heat exposure compounded by hepatic cirrhosis. His passing has been classified as accidental.
Essentially, the hot Arizona sun contributed to Gregory’s death, but he also had liver scarring from long-term damage. However, the cause of the cirrhosis is still unclear.
Meanwhile, his sister, Rebecca Hertzberg-Pfaffinger, first broke the news of his passing on Facebook.
“Ben was a great Son, Brother and Uncle. He was fun to be around and made us laugh quite often. Still, going through his things, I find myself laughing at little videos or notes of his, in between crying,” she wrote then, per NBC News.
Gregory portrayed Brian Tanner, the family’s middle son, in over 100 episodes of ALF, which aired from 1986 to 1990. The show chronicled the humorous earthly escapades of ALF, a furry alien from the planet Melmac who crash-landed his spaceship in the Tanners’ garage. Voiced by Paul Fusco, ALF, short for Alien Life Form, often dunked on human customs and had an unconventional favorite meal: cats.
Benji Gregory’s Career Beyond ‘ALF’ Includes Military Service
Born on May 26, 1978, in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Gregory launched his television career at a young age. He made guest appearances in the mid-’80s on shows like The A-Team, Punky Brewster, and Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories.
During the run of ALF, he also lent his voice to a character on Fantastic Max. He later portrayed Biff Tannen Jr. in the animated comedy series Back to the Future (1991-92). Additionally, he made an appearance in a 1991 episode of Murphy Brown and had a small role in the 1986 spy comedy Jumpin’ Jack Flash, directed by Penny Marshall and starring Whoopi Goldberg.
Beyond acting, he was featured in commercials for brands like McDonald’s and others.
In 2003, Gregory transitioned from the entertainment industry to enlist in the U.S. Navy, where he served as an aerographer’s mate. He was honorably medically discharged from the Navy in 2005.