Then and Now: See the Cast of ALF 36 Years Later

written by Tobias Rivera

January 28, 2023 1:03 pm

Then and Now: See the Cast of ALF 36 Years Later — Image credit: Legion-Media

ALF reunion: see the cast members who've aged like fine wine (and some who haven't at all).

Max Wright (1943–2019)

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Max Wright was a serious dramatic actor and did a lot of shows on Broadway before he became famous for his least favorite role as nerdy Willie Tanner in ALF. The actor was disappointed and annoyed because he thought the series had made him a clown talking to a doll — and what's more, that dall was many times more popular than him. Further aggravating the situation were technical difficulties on the set: a 25-minute episode took about 30 hours to shoot, leaving all members of cast and crew angry and exhausted.

Puppeteer Paul Fusco recalled that, when the last scene of the last episode of season four was done, Wright went to the dressing room silently, packed up his things, and left without saying a word. There was no goodbye party: everyone was happy to finally wrap up. Years later, Wright cooled off a bit and mentioned he was still happy to see the audience enjoying the show, despite his own dislike of the role and poor working conditions.

The actor was diagnosed with cancer in 1995. He fought the disease for more than 20 years but passed away in 2019, aged 75.

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Anne Schedeen, 74

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The actress says that playing Kate Tanner in ALF was the toughest job in her acting career. She speaks kindly of her colleagues but also recalls there were a few unpleasant moments (such as when Max Wright yelled at little Benji Gregory for forgetting his lines).

When Anne Schedeen was cast to play in ALF, she was already a popular actress — but once the show was over, she also disappeared from screens. Today, the 74-year-old actress devotes most of her time to charity work.

Andrea Elson, 53

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For Andrea Elson, ALF was both the best and the worst time of her life and career. At the start of the project, the 17-year-old actress was very skinny, but when the second season was filmed, Elson was already turning into a woman — and gained weight accordingly.

The actress thought that the audience would fall out of love with her character Lynn Tanner, so she tried to lose weight quickly, which led to her developing bulimia.

Fortunately, Elson's future husband, whom she met on the set, helped her out of this condition. The couple soon married and had a child. In 1998, Elson made her last appearance on the series and left the set forever. Today, she works as a yoga instructor.

Benji Gregory, 44

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At the start of season one, Benji was only eight years old. Though ALF wasn't his debut, the shooting process and the conditions on the set made a deep impression on the young actor. Gregory revealed that he felt extremely tired during the filming of all four seasons, which is why he decided to give up acting.

When the series was over, Gregory voiced several cartoons and then disappeared from public view. He is known to have served in the military, and now, it's rumored that Gregory is thinking of returning to the world of cinema to try his hand at directing.