Max Wright (born August 2, 1943) is an American actor, best known for his role as Willie Tanner in the sitcom ALF.

Biography

Wright was born George Edward Maxwell Wright in Detroit, Michigan.Prior to ALF he made appearances in TV shows such as WKRP in Cincinnati, and was a regular cast member in Misfits of Science, AfterMASH, Buffalo Bill and The Norm Show as well as appearing in the made-for-TV adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. He has also appeared in the first two episodes of the sitcom Friends, as Terry, the manager of Central Perk, and played Guenter Wendt in the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

Wright has also enjoyed a stage career and has acted at regional theaters around the country. He received a Tony nomination in 1998 for Ivanov. Another Broadway appearance of note was in Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center as Sir Andrew. He was in the original production of The Great White Hope at The Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

In January 2000, Wright was arrested for drunken driving in Los Angeles, California. At the time he was appearing on the show Norm. He was sentenced to probation. Another DUI arrest followed in 2003

In 2007 he acted at the JET - Jewish Ensemble Theatre in Detroit.

Personal life

He has been married to his wife, Linda, since 1965; the couple have two children, Ben and Daisy.

In 1995, he was diagnosed with lymphoma.

Filmography

• Last Embrace (1979)
• All That Jazz (1979)
• Simon (1980)
• Reds (1981)
• The Sting II (1983)
• The Boy Who Loved Trolls (1984)
• Fraternity Vacation (1985)
• Touch and Go (1986)
• Soul Man (1986)
• Going to the Chapel (1988)
• The Shadow (1994)
• Grumpier Old Men (1995)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
• Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

Television

• In Fashion (1974)
• Red Alert (1977)
• Playing for Time (1980)
• For Ladies Only (1981)
• Hart to Hart (1 episode, 1982)
• CBS Afternoon Playhouse (1 episode, 1982)
• WKRP in Cincinnati (2 episodes, 1982)
• Taxi (1 episode, 1982)
• Tales from the Darkside (1 episode, 1983)
• Buffalo Bill (25 episodes, 1983-1984)
• AfterMASH (1 episode, 1984)
• E/R (1 episode, 1984)
• Scandal Sheet (1985)
• Code Name: Foxfire (1985)
• Benson (1 episode, 1985)
• Konrad (1985)
• Misfits of Science (16 episodes, 1985-1986)
• ALF (102 episodes, 1986-1990)
• Cheers (2 episodes, 1986)
• Comedy Factory (1 episode, 1986)
• Liberty (1986)
• Faerie Tale Theatre (1 episode, 1987)
• Murder, She Wrote (1 episode, 1991)

• Ghostwriter (4 episodes, 1992)
• Quantum Leap (2 episodes, 1992)
• The Powers That Be (1 episode, 1992)
• Dudley (Unknown episodes, 1993)
• Murphy Brown (1 episode, 1993)
• Roc (1 episode, 1993)
• Monty (1 episode)
• The Stand (Miniseries, 1994)
• White Mile (1994)
• A Mother's Gift (1995)
• Friends (2 episodes in season 1 & 2, 1994-1995)
• The John Larroquette Show (1 episode, 1996)
• Early Edition (1 episode, 1996)
• High Incident (1 episode, 1996)
• Dead by Midnight (1997)
• From the Earth to the Moon (Miniseries, 1998)
• Twelfth Night, or What You Will (1998)
• Mad About You (1 episode, 1998)
• The Drew Carey Show (1 episode, 1999)
• The Norm Show (49 episodes, 1999-2001)
• A Minute with Stan Hooper (1 episode, 2003)
• Back to Norm (2005)

References

1. Max Wright Biography (1943-)
2. Entertainment Weekly article
3. USA Today
4. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0942642/bio

External links