Max Wright, best known for portraying the father in the beloved 1980s sitcom "Alf," died Wednesday at his home in California after a long battle with cancer. He was 75.
Wright was first diagnosed with lymphoma in 1995 but had been in remission, TMZ reported.
The veteran TV star launched his career in 1968 on the stage of Broadway, starring in "The Great White Hope," The Hollywood Reporter noted. He went on to appear in various productions, earning himself a Tony nomination for best actor in 1998 for his role as Pavel Lebedev in "Ivanov."
Despite his illustrious career in theater, Wright was possibly best known for his role as the father Willie Tanner on "Alf." The NBC alien-puppet-led sitcom ran for four seasons between 1986 and 1990. Wright previously admitted that working on the set with a puppet was tough, but at the end of the day the show brought joy to people.
"ALF was funny and full of invention. His movement was so expressive that once I actually could see the puppet blush," he told People in a previous interview.
The show's creator Paul Fusco said Wright had his work cut out for him.
"Max had a difficult thing to do, playing straight man against ALF," he said. "But there was great chemistry between Max's character and ALF."
Wright appeared in several other TV shows, including "Cheers" and "Buffalo Bill," and also made his mark on the big screen with performances in the 1980s movie "Soul Man" and the 1999 film version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
Wright lost his wife Linda Ybarrondo to breast cancer in 2017, TMZ noted. They had been married since 1965 and had two children together.
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