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Benji Gregory

Benji Gregory was an American actor whose career was shaped by the busy, varied world of 1980s family television. Born Benjamin Gregory Hertzberg in Los Angeles on May 26, 1978, he was raised in Thousand Oaks, California. Entertainment already ran through his family: several relatives worked in the industry, and his grandmother served as his agent. Gregory began appearing in commercials while still an infant. His main role came on the television sitcom ALF, where he became part of one of the decade’s most distinctive family ensembles. His work around that period shows the range expected of a young television performer. Gregory appeared in The A-Team, T.J. Hooker, Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Murphy Brown and the television movie Mr. Boogedy. He also played Dash, an orphan, in several episodes of Punky Brewster. A proposed spin-off, Fenster Hall, was built around that corner of the series, but its pilot television movie was not picked up for regular production. Gregory’s screen work was not limited to sitcoms. He appeared in the feature film Jumpin’ Jack Flash and took on voice roles, including work on Fantastic Max and Pound Puppies. He also appeared as himself on The More You Know, I’m Telling!, Fun House and a children’s episode of The Dating Game. His final acting role was the voice of Edgar the Mole in the 1993 animated feature Once Upon a Forest. After leaving acting behind, Gregory took a markedly different path. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2003, serving as an aerographer’s mate aboard the USS Carl Vinson. He received an honorable medical discharge in 2005. Gregory’s compact screen career remains closely tied to the adventurous, slightly strange and warmly comic television landscape in which he grew up.