'ALF' actor Benji Gregory's cause of death has been ruled an accident

Benji's sister Rebecca Hertzberg-Pfaffinger announced his death via a Facebook post on 10 July, revealing the family believed he had been killed by heat stroke, as it was 109 degrees in Peoria the day before the actor was found dead.

Best known for playing Brian Tanner on the alien puppet sitcom 'ALF' - which was a hit when it ran from 1986 to 1990 - Benji was found dead in his car alongside his service dog Hans at a Chase Bank parking lot.

Benji's sister said he had suffered from depression, bipolar disorder and had an insomnia disorder that often kept him awake for days.

She said on Facebook about his passing: "It is with a heavy heart my family has suffered a loss way too early.

"Ben was a great Son, Brother and Uncle. He was fun to be around and made us laugh quite often. Still, going through his things, I find myself laughing at little videos or notes of his, in between crying.

"My brother Ben was found in his car, along with his beloved service dog Hans, deceased on June 13.

"We believe he went there the evening of the 12th to deposit some residuals (found in his car) and never got out of the car to do so.

"He fell asleep and died from vehicular heatstroke."

She asked for any donations in honour of Benji's life to be made to the Foundation or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Benji starred in 101 episodes of NBC's 'ALF' - which told of the middle-class Tanner family who take in alien ALF after he crash-lands in their garage.

The series shows the Tanners struggling to hide the extra terrestrial from nosy neighbours and government officials.

A reboot of the show was in the pipeline in 2018 but was axed later that year.