# RIP ALF's Willie Tanner, actor Max Wright **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [June 30, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298 "2019-06-30T14:38:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/1 "2019-06-30T14:38:48Z")
[ALF actor Max Wright](https://www.tmz.com/2019/06/26/max-wright-dad-willie-tanner-alf-dead-dies-cancer/) has died at 75 after a battle with lymphoma. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/2 "2019-06-30T14:55:37Z")
Dang. I was no fan of the show, but I loved that actor. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/3 "2019-06-30T19:06:59Z")
I saw him on Broadway. He was a far better actor than his role in _ALF_ indicated. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/4 "2019-06-30T19:20:50Z")
Am I the only one who remembers him blowing a homeless man and smoking crack? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/5 "2019-06-30T19:29:44Z")
I remember him from _The Stand_. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/6 "2019-06-30T19:37:04Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Am I the only one who remembers him blowing a homeless man and smoking crack? Nope, I remember. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/7 "2019-06-30T21:25:52Z")
He was in the criminally underrated TV show _Buffalo Bill_, starring Dabney Coleman. Other cast members were Gina Davis, Charles “Mac” Robinson, Joanna Cassidy, and John Fiedler. Despite an excellent cast, the show didn’t get good ratings and didn’t last long. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/8 "2019-06-30T22:59:11Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > He was in the criminally underrated TV show _Buffalo Bill_, starring Dabney Coleman. Other cast members were Gina Davis, Charles “Mac” Robinson, Joanna Cassidy, and John Fiedler. Despite an excellent cast, the show didn’t get good ratings and didn’t last long. I remember that show! It was quite good. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/9 "2019-07-01T01:25:09Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Dang. I was no fan of the show, but I loved that actor. I was a fan of the show, but I was in fifth grade at the time. It has _not_ aged well. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/10 "2019-07-01T02:09:02Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > It has _not_ aged well. It didn’t start out that well, for that matter. Dabney Coleman’s character managed to offend just about everyone of every political and social persuasion. Which explains why there were only 26 episodes. As for Max Wright, I first remember him as the long-suffering station lawyer on _WKRP in Cincinatti_. For a real trivia blast, he was the original manager of Central Perk on **Friends** , before Gunther took over. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/11 "2019-07-01T02:58:58Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > It didn’t start out that well, for that matter. Dabney Coleman’s character managed to offend just about everyone of every political and social persuasion. Which explains why there were only 26 episodes. I was _really_ confused about this, as that’s not the _ALF_ I remember, but I see you’re talking about _Buffalo Bill_ (a show I’m not familiar with), I assume. (The comment you quoted was referring to ALF.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/12 "2019-07-01T03:05:52Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Am I the only one who remembers him blowing a homeless man and smoking crack? Wait, WHAT??? I remember liking _ALF_ too, but I was also just a kid. I didn’t know he was that old. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2019, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-alfs-willie-tanner-actor-max-wright/836298/13 "2019-07-01T04:03:02Z")
In sort-of related news, there is [talk](https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Fundraiser-underway-to-erect-Alf-statue-in-New-14051024.php) of putting a statue of ALF in a New Haven park. (Paul Fusco, who created the character, was from the New Haven area and was a schoolteacher in a high school in a suburb of New Haven.)