Child star Benji Gregory, best known for the ’80s sitcom ALF, has passed away. TMZ reports that the former actor was found dead in his car in Arizona on June 13, according to his sister. The 46-year-old’s cause of death is still pending, per the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office. However, his sister Rebecca told the outlet that Gregory had a sleep disorder “that often kept him awake for days” and also suffered from depression and bipolar disorder.
It’s believed the former actor went to the bank to deposit residual checks on June 12, where he fell asleep in his car and died from heatstroke. Gregory wasn’t the only one who was found, as his service dog Hans was with him and also died, likely from heatstroke.
Born on May 26, 1978 in Los Angeles, Gregory came from a family of actors. He made his acting debut in 1984 in single episodes of The A-Team and T.J. Hooker, also appearing in episodes of Punky Brewster, The Twilight Zone, and Amazing Stories before landing his breakout role of Brian Tanner in the NBC sci-fi comedy ALF in 1986. The series also starred Max Wright, Anne Schedeen, and Andrea Elson and ran for four seasons from 1986 to 1990.
CENTURY CITY, CA – JUNE 2: Actor Max Wright, actress Andrea Elson, actress Anne Schedeen and actor Benji Gregory attend the NBC Television Affiliates Party on June 2, 1987 at Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
– Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
During his time on the series, he continued to act in other projects, such as Pound Puppies and Fantastic Max. After ALF, he appeared in Never Forget, Back to the Future TV series, and Once Upon a Forest, which was his final role in 1993. Gregory officially left the entertainment industry when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2003 and graduated from school to be an aerographer’s mate. He received an honorable medical discharge from the Navy just two years later.
While his acting days were far behind him, Benji Gregory was still as grateful as ever for the opportunities he had as a child actor. Last year, he shared pictures of a magazine commemorating The A-Team that just so happened to have a picture of him from his one episode that he saw at the supermarket. He took to his Instagram to share that he “could barely believe it” and recalled how the episode was shot at Disneyland which was a “cool experience.” He also frequently took the time to go through fan mail and autograph requests, having shared an Instagram post of fanmail that he got and ALF photos that were just itching to be signed.
Per Gregory’s sister, donations in his name to The Actors Equity or the ASPCA would be appreciated as they were both causes he would have supported.