Thursday, June 27, 2019
Remembering Max Wright of ALF; The Office Reruns Move to NBCU Streaming in 2021

Actor Max Wright, who was best known for his role as Willie Tanner in ALF, has died. He died on June 26 from lymphoma at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey. Mr. Wright was 75.
Wright's first sitcom starring role was as Karl Shub in the 1983-1984 NBC sitcom Buffalo Bill. Karl Shub was the nervous station manager at WBFL, a small TV station in Buffalo, New York. It also starred Dabney Coleman, Joanna Cassidy, John Fielder, Geena Davis, Charles Robinson, Meschach Taylor and Claude Earl Jones. The series received 11 Emmy Award nominations, including two for Outstanding Comedy Series.
He starred as Willie Tanner in the 1986-1990 NBC sitcom ALF. Willie Tanner was a social worker. He was the husband of Kate and father of Lynn and Brian. The series also starred Paul Fusco (as the voice of ALF), Anne Schedeen, Andrea Elson and Benji Gregory. Recurring cast members included Liz Sheridan, John LaMotta, Josh Blake (seasons 2-3), and JM J. Bullock (season 4). It ran for four seasons and 99 episodes (102 syndicated episodes).
Wright appeared as Paul in the short-lived 1993 CBS sitcom Dudley. Paul was Dudley's (Dudley Moore) business manager and best friend. The series also starred Joanna Cassidy, Harley Cross, Joel Brooks and Lupe Ontiveros.
He starred as Max Denby in the 1999-2001 ABC sitcom Norm (originally called The Norm Show). Max Denby was Norm Henderson's (Norm Macdonald) second boss at the office. The series also starred Laurie Metcalf, Ian Gomez, Amy Wilson (season 1), Bruce Jarchow (season 1), Faith Ford, Artie Lange (seasons 2-3) and Nikki Cox.
Wright appeared in two episodes of Friends in 1994 and 1995 as Terry, the manager of Central Perk. Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included WKRP in Cincinnati, Open All Night, Taxi, AfterMASH, E/R (1984), Benson, Cheers, Who's the Boss?, The Powers That Be, Murphy Brown, Roc, Monty, The John Larroquette Show, Mad About You, The Drew Carey Show and A Minute with Stan Hooper.
He starred as Dick Stetmeyer in the short-lived 1985-1986 NBC superhero fantasy series Misfits of Science. Dick Stetmeyer was the uptight director of the Humanidyne Institute. The series also starred Dean Paul Martin, Kevin Peter Hall, Mark Thomas Miller, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Holmes, Diane Civita and Mickey Jones.
Some of his drama guest appearances included Hart to Hart, Code Red, Tales from the Darkside, Code Name: Foxfire, You Are the Jury, Faerie Tale Theatre, Murder, She Wrote, Ghostwriter, Quantum Leap, Early Edition and High Incident. He appeared as Dr. Herbert Denninger in the 1994 ABC mini-series The Stand.
His film credits included All That Jazz, Reds, The Sting II, Fraternity Vacation, The Shadow, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Easter.
He was also known for his stage career in theater and acted at regional theaters around the United States. He received a Tony nomination in 1998 for his role on Broadway's Ivanov. Some of his other theater credits included The Great White Hope, The Twelfth Night, No Man's Land, Winters Tale and Merchants of Venice.
Mr. Wright was a talented character actor. He was one of the better TV dads as Willie Tanner on ALF. He was also very good in the underrated Buffalo Bill and Norm. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment he brought us. He will be greatly missed.
Share your memories on our ALF message board. View photos in our galleries.
NBCUniversal announced that it has secured the exclusive domestic streaming rights to The Office (away from Netflix). All nine seasons of this beloved NBC sitcom will be available on the company's soon-to-be-launched streaming service for five years, beginning 2021. The Office is the number one series on SVOD. In 2018, it was streamed for over 52 billion minutes, and in April 2019, it was viewed nearly twice as much as the next most-viewed program on SVOD.
Produced by Universal Television in association with Deedle-Dee Productions and Reveille Productions, The Office takes a hilarious documentary-style look at the humorous, and sometimes poignant, foolishness that plagues the 9-to-5 world. Based on the award-winning BBC hit, The Office is a fly-on-the-wall "docu-reality" parody of modern American office life that delves into the lives of the workers at Dunder Mifflin, a paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The show, which premiered on NBC in 2005, created indelible characters like Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute and Pam & Jim, and launched the careers of some of comedy's most celebrated actors, writers and producers, including Steve Carell, Ed Helms, John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, B.J. Novak, Craig Robinson, and Mike Schur.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, April 18
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of April 14)
Friday, April 18
- David Alan Grier (St. Denis Medical/Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Cool Kids/The Carmichael Show/Bad Teacher/Life with Bonnie/DAG) - Watch David on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Bernadette Peters (High Desert/Mozart in the Jungle/All's Fair) - Bernadette is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Chet Hanks (Running Point) - Chet appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Woody Harrelson (Cheers) - Woody takes "The Colbert Questionert" on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Paul Rudd (The Shrink Next Door/Living with Yourself/Wild Oats) - Paul is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ike Barinholtz (The Studio/The Afterparty/Bless the Harts/The Mindy Project/Eastbound & Down) - Ike appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Bobby Moynihan (Mr. Mayor/Me, Myself & I), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Mary Eliabeth Ellis (Santa Clarita Diet/The Grinder/Perfect Couples/It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) - Bobby, Thomas and Mary are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Luke Kirby (Étoile) - Luke talks about Étoile on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew and Ross Mathews to hit the headlines on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Annaleigh Ashford (B Positive) - Annaleigh is telling Drew about the thrilling new series Happy Face based on a real life serial killer on The Drew Barrymroe Show, so check your local listings.
- Michael B. Jordan (The Assistants) and Delroy Lindo (UNPrisoned) - Michael, Delroy and others tell Sherri about their highly anticipated new film Sinners on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Joel Kim Booster (Loot/Shrill) - Joel talks about Bravo's Love Hotel on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts