Max Wright — the actor best known for playing the father on the beloved '80s sitcom ALF — has died. He was 75.
Wright's passing was confirmed by his son Ben to The Hollywood Reporter, revealing the actor had died at his home in Hermosa Beach, CA, following a long battle with cancer.
Wright was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 1995, but he was reportedly in remission for many years.
Wright was born in Detroit in 1943, and throughout his career, he took on a huge number of roles for TV, film and theatre.
But Wright will remain best known as playing the father Willie Tanner on ALF, which ran for four season on NBC from 1986 to 1990. As the social worker dad, he became known for playing a hilariously uptight character, helping cement the show as a true '80s TV hit.
On the big screen, Wright appeared in such films as All That Jazz (1979), Simon (1980), Reds (1981), The Sting II (1983), Touch and Go (1986), Soul Man (1986), The Shadow (1994) and Snow Falling on Cedars (1999).
On television, Wright appeared in a pair of early Friends episodes and was a regular on NBC's Misfits of Science. He also played Norm MacDonald's boss Max Denby on the ABC comedy Norm.
Wright's Broadway debut was in the 1968 production of The Great White Hope, and in 1998, he was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Pavel Lebedev in Ivanov.
You will find a few tributes to Wright below.
Wright's passing was confirmed by his son Ben to The Hollywood Reporter, revealing the actor had died at his home in Hermosa Beach, CA, following a long battle with cancer.
Wright was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 1995, but he was reportedly in remission for many years.
Wright was born in Detroit in 1943, and throughout his career, he took on a huge number of roles for TV, film and theatre.
But Wright will remain best known as playing the father Willie Tanner on ALF, which ran for four season on NBC from 1986 to 1990. As the social worker dad, he became known for playing a hilariously uptight character, helping cement the show as a true '80s TV hit.
On the big screen, Wright appeared in such films as All That Jazz (1979), Simon (1980), Reds (1981), The Sting II (1983), Touch and Go (1986), Soul Man (1986), The Shadow (1994) and Snow Falling on Cedars (1999).
On television, Wright appeared in a pair of early Friends episodes and was a regular on NBC's Misfits of Science. He also played Norm MacDonald's boss Max Denby on the ABC comedy Norm.
Wright's Broadway debut was in the 1968 production of The Great White Hope, and in 1998, he was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Pavel Lebedev in Ivanov.
You will find a few tributes to Wright below.
