ALF Star Benji Gregory’s Cause of Death Revealed

Benji Gregory, the actor best known for playing ALF‘s Brian Tanner, died on June 13 at the age of 46. Now, an Arizona medical examiner has released his cause of death.

Gregory, who was found dead in his parked car at a Chase Bank in Peoria, Ariz., reportedly died from “heat exposure in the setting of hepatic cirrhosis,” TMZ reports. Essentially this means it was a combination of prolonged exposure to the Arizona sun as well as extensive scarring of the liver.

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It’s believed that Gregory visited the bank on June 12 and fell asleep. The actor’s service dog Hans, who was with him, also died. Gregory’s sister told TMZ that he dealt with depression, bipolar disorder and a sleep disorder that kept him awake for days.

The actor rose to fame as Brian on ALF, which aired for four seasons (from 1986-1990) on NBC and produced four hour-long specials: “Try to Remember,” “ALF’s Special Christmas,” “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Tonight, Tonight.”

He also made appearances on Fantastic Max, Pound Puppies, Murphy Brown, Fantasy Island, The A-Team, T.J. Hooker, Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone and Mr. Boogedy. Additionally, he recurred on the sitcom Punky Brewster as an orphan named Dash.

On the film side, Gregory was featured in 1986’s Jumpin’ Jack Flash (starring Whoopi Goldberg) and voiced Edgar the Mole in the animated feature Once Upon a Forest.

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