(LibertySociety.com) – The official cause of death has been released for Benji Gregory, the actor best known for playing Brian Tanner, the young son on the popular 1980s sitcom ALF. Gregory, 46, was found dead on June 13 in his car parked outside a Chase Bank in Peoria, Arizona. His service dog, Hans, was also found deceased inside the vehicle.
Gregory’s sister, Rebecca Pfaffinger, initially speculated that her brother’s sleep disorder, which often kept him awake for days, might have caused him to fall asleep in his car on a hot summer day, leading to fatal heat exposure. Gregory had battled depression, bipolar disorder, and his severe sleep condition for years, she told TMZ after his death was confirmed.
The Maricopa Medical Examiner has now released the official report, ruling Gregory’s death an accident. According to AZCentral, the report cited “environmental heat exposure in the setting of hepatic cirrhosis” as the final cause of death, revealing that Gregory was also suffering from end-stage liver disease.
Gregory became a household name at a young age, starring as Brian Tanner in all four seasons of ALF, which followed the adventures of an alien living with the Tanner family. Alongside Gregory, the show featured Max Wright, Anne Schedeen, and Andrea Elson as his on-screen family. ALF was a major hit in the late ‘80s, making Gregory one of the most recognizable child actors of the time.
Beyond his role on ALF, Gregory appeared in a variety of other television shows during the 1980s, including The A-Team, Amazing Stories, TJ Hooker, Murphy Brown, and the reboot of The Twilight Zone. He also had a supporting role in the 1986 film Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Later in his career, Gregory guest-starred on Punky Brewster and voiced a character in the animated film Once Upon a Forest.
Gregory’s family has asked fans to honor his memory by making donations to the Actors’ Equity Foundation or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), reflecting his love for the arts and animals. His untimely death has saddened fans who remember him fondly as a beloved figure from a nostalgic era of television.
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