Benji Gregory – best known for his role in the sitcom ALF – has died at the age of 46, it has been confirmed.
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The news came yesterday, with Gregory's sister, Rebecca Hertzberg-Pfaffinger, writing on Facebook that he had fallen asleep in his car and died from vehicular heatstroke. The actor's service dog, Hans, also passed away.
She told TMZ that her family "is grieving a great loss and appreciates everyone's thoughts and kind words".
Hertzberg-Pfaffinger also said that donations to either the Actors' Equity Foundation or the ASPCA in Benji's name would be "appreciated".
The former child star rose to fame for playing Brian Tanner in the sitcom ALF from the late '80s to early '90s, appearing in 101 episodes across all four seasons.
ALF, which stood of Alien Life Form, was an American sitcom in which the titular character crash lands in the garage of the Tanner family.
Gregory starred alongside Max Wright, Anne Schedeen and Andrea Elson.
Max Wright, Andrea Elson, Anne Schedeen and Benji Gregory. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Gregory appeared in other movies and television series including Disney's Mr Boogedy, Murphy Brown and Jumpin' Jack Flash.
However, the actor did not appear in anything after 1993, with his last noted role being the voice of Edgar in Once Upon a Forest.
Following his acting career, Gregory enlisted in the US Navy and during that time he was assigned to the USS Carl Vinson.
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In 2005, Gregory received an honourable medical discharge from the Navy and married his wife the following year.
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
