Max Wright, known around the world for being Alf’s father in the well-known television series, has had a successful and controversial life. He went from world fame to being involved in various scandals in his personal life. These events and a long fight against terminal cancer led the actor to move away from media exposure in his later years of life.

Wright became famous for playing Willie Tanner in the four seasons in which the legendary Alf series was aired, the first chapter of which was presented for the first time in 1986.

His portrayal of Willie was tougher than it seemed, as Wright had to do most of his scenes alongside a puppet. “It was a difficult and somewhat unpleasant job,” he said in an interview with the magazine People.

A life dedicated to acting

George Edward Maxwell Wright was born on 2 August 1943 a Detroit, Mich., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. During his adolescence and adulthood he performed in various plays and participated in various television productions.

Max Wright began a relationship with his later wife, Linda Wright, in the early 1960s. They first met through a mutual friend at an event. Then, in 1965, the couple got married. Max and Linda share two children together, Daisy Wright and Ben Wright.

The actor’s glory years refer to a few films: All That Jazz and Reds, respectively in 1979 and 1981, and to his extraordinary participation as Willie Tanner in Alf.

But it is in the mid-1980s, at the age of 43, that he begins to give life to his most important role.

Alfa’s father

“Ah, Willie! No problem” was the famous phrase that Alf, that alien from the planet Melmac, habitually uttered. Playing the role of the breadwinner in the popular series, Max Wright rose to fame in the 1980s.

Not everything was as it seemed, the chemistry that was seen on the small screen was very different from that experienced day by day during the recordings.

Wright hated his job. As she commented in an interview with People magazine, she worked 18 hours a day. His desire to abandon the project was such that, according to his colleagues, he didn’t say goodbye after shooting the last scene. She just took her things and left the set.

His rage at work was such that, on one occasion, he attacked Alf’s puppet, shouting, “Put us all on a stick. We are all puppets ”.

The sitcom lasted four seasons and was a resounding success first in the United States and then in the rest of the world. His disenchantment with the character of Willie Tanner was such that he did not participate in the film which was shot six years later (1996). In this way he abruptly interrupted his performance of him more remembered than him.

In addition to his character in Alf, he also participated in the series“Hello”, “Through time” and “Loco por ti”.

Max Wright, in addition to having a great television career, has also demonstrated his acting talent on the theatrical stages. In 1998 He received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Ivanov.

His personal life

Personal problems began to haunt Wright. In 1995, to the actor a type of cancer called lymphoma has been detected, from which he underwent chemotherapy treatment for several years. Although he has managed to partially recover several times, he has never been able to fully overcome it.

In 2000 Max was arrested for a few hours for driving under the influence of alcohol. Three years later, he committed the same crime again.

But its most scandalous episode would come in 2012, when the National Enquirer newspaper headlined: “Alf Star trapped in a lair of cracks”. In addition to that, she has posted a sequence of images in which Max is seen consuming crack and having sex with two homeless people.

Additionally, the outlet cited an interview from a former Wright lover who claimed the actor’s life was out of control due to his drug addiction.

The images involving Wright corresponded to some homemade gay porn scenes. According to the director’s statements of the XXX video to the aforementioned US media, Max agreed to be filmed and have unprotected sex with the homeless.

The actor’s behavior, according to the newspaper, was the result of a total loss of control over his life after his wife kicked him out of the house.

“His life was so out of control that he wasn’t afraid of contracting HIV. Max had unprotected sex with the homeless and took drugs with all of them,” the director said.

This fact would be disproved shortly thereafter by the actor, but the material was vigorous. In addition, one of the protagonists of the video along with Wright, whose identity has not been revealed, confirmed it and recounted intimate details of that encounter. And also from the previous ones.

its sad ending

The material posted on the front page caused the actor’s career to collapse. After the scandalous event, it happened without pain or glory in the well-known series friendswhere it only lasted two episodes.

These chapters are “The one where the underdog escapes” and “The one with the child on the bus”. Paradoxically, the role he played in this role was that of Terry, owner of Central Park.

Finally, after a long battle of over 20 years with cancer, Max Wright passed away in 2019 at the age of 75 in his home in California.