Former child star Benji Gregory has died at age 46.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed on Wednesday, July 10, that Gregory died on June 13, in Arizona, according to Deadline. His cause of death has not yet been determined.
TMZ was first to break the news on Wednesday. Gregory’s sister, Rebecca, told the outlet that her brother was found dead in his car at a Chase Bank parking lot in Peoria, Arizona, which is a suburb outside of Phoenix. His service dog, Hans, was also found dead at the scene.
Rebecca claimed to TMZ that Gregory suffered from depression, bipolar disorder and a sleep disorder that kept him awake for days often. According to Gregory’s Instagram page, his bio states that suffered from “bipolar” and “major depression disorder.”
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Rebecca shared that Gregory advocated for The Actors Equity Foundation and ASPCA, and suggested donations be made to those organizations in honor of her late brother in lieu of gifts to the family.
Gregory was not active on social media and his last post dates back to April.
“Wish my dog, Hans, would grow out of this ‘tagging’ phase already,” Gregory wrote via Instagram alongside a photo of water splattered on the concrete on a sidewalk in Peoria, Arizona.
Many of Gregory’s fans took to the comments section of that post to pay their respects to the late actor and his pup.
“R.I.P. Ben. R.I.P. Hans. My sincere condolences to your loved ones. ❤️,” one user replied, while another penned, “RIP 🤍 We will miss you and Hans. 🐕🪽.”
Gregory grew up in Los Angeles and his brother, sister and uncle were all actors. He was best known for his role as middle brother Brian Tanner on Alf, which aired from 1986 to 1990. The actor, who got his start when he was 8 years old, appeared on 101 episodes of the classic sitcom. Alf also starred Max Wright, Anne Schedeen and Andrea Elson. (Wright died in 2019 at age 75 after battling lymphoma.)
Following his time on Alf, Gregory also made guest appearances on several shows, including Fantastic Max, Murphy Brown, Fantasy Island, The A-Team, T.J. Hooker, The Twilight Zone, Punky Brewster and more. Gregory also snagged roles in two films: 1986’s Jumpin’ Jack Flash and 1993’s Once Upon a Forest.
In 2003, Gregory left behind the entertainment industry as he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He went on to graduate from school to become an aerographer’s mate. He was assigned to the USS Carl Vinson. Gregory received an honorable medical discharge in 2005.
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