HERMOSA BEACH (CNS) - Veteran character actor Max Wright, best known for playing family patriarch Willie Tanner on the 1980s cult-hit sitcom ``Alf,'' has died at age 75.
Relatives told the website TMZ that Wright died at his home in Hermosa Beach following a battle with cancer. According to TMZ, Wright was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 1995.
A Detroit native, Wright's television career dated back to the mid- 1970s. Over the years, he appeared on shows including ``Hart to Hart,'' ``WKRP in Cincinnati,'' ``Taxi,'' ``Buffalo Bill,'' ``Benson,'' ``Cheers,'' ``Misfits of Science,'' ``Who's the Boss?,'' ``Murphy Brown,'' ``Friends,'' ``Norm'' and ``The Drew Carey Show.''
But he was best known for his role on ``Alf,'' about a family that played host to a puppet alien.
He received a Tony nomination for his stage work in 1998.
His wife, Linda Ybarrondo, died in 2017 of breast cancer. The couple had two children.