Former Alf child star’s sad cause of death finally revealed

A former child star of the beloved 80s sitcom Alf was found dead in his car in June. Now, a coroner has revealed what really happened.

Former child star Benji Gregory’s cause of death has been ruled an accident two months after he was found dead in his car in a city in Arizona.

The Maricopa Medical Examiner’s office shared Gregory suffered from “environmental heat exposure in the setting of hepatic cirrhosis,” which means the his liver had formed scar tissue (fibrosis).

The US National Library of Medicine states that following a “chronic injury, most of the liver tissue becomes fibrotic, leading to loss of function and the development of cirrhosis.”

Gregory — who became a household name when he portrayed Brian Tanner on all four seasons of Alf from 1986 to 1990 — was found dead in a Chase Bank parking lot in June. He was 46.

Gregory was found dead in his car in June.

As a child star in the hit 80s sitcom Alf.

The medical examiner’s report, obtained by Page Six, confirmed he died on June 13.

In July, his sister Rebecca Pfaffinger confirmed his death on Facebook, saying she and their family believed Gregory was at the bank “the evening of the 12th to deposit some residuals and never got out the car to do so.”

“He fell asleep and died from vehicular heatstroke,” she wrote. “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.”

His sister went on to reveal that Gregory also suffered from depression, bipolar disorder and had a sleep disorder that would typically force him to stay awake for days.

In addition to his role on the famous ’80s series, Gregory also held guest-starring roles on The A-team and The Twilight Zone in the ’80s and appeared in a TV pilot, Fenster Hall, a Disney movie, Mr. Boogedy, and Jumpin’ Jack Flash.

He stepped away from Hollywood in 2003 when he enlisted in the US Navy and became an aerographer’s mate. He was honourably discharged in 2005.

His co-star Michu Meszaros, who played Alf, died in 2016 at the age of 76, and Max Wright, who starred as the father on the series, died in 2018 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 75.

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as Former Alf child star’s sad cause of death finally revealed