July 4 • 2019 41
jn

continued on page 42

soul

of blessed memory

Actor Max 
Wright, Native 
Detroiter, Dies

Detroit native and acclaimed actor 
Max Wright died June 26, 2019, at 
age 75. Wright had been battling 
lymphoma for years prior to his 
death. 
Wright is best known for his role 
in the NBC sitcom ALF, in which 
he played the father, Willie Tanner. 
Wright also had roles on the shows 
Cheers, Taxi, Murphy Brown, 
Buffalo Bill, The Drew Carey Show 
and Friends. In addition to tele-
vision shows, Wright starred in 
movies including All That Jazz, 
Snow Falling on Cedars, Soul Man 
and Reds and the television movie 
Playing for Time. 
Wright had an accomplished 
career in theater, even earning a 
Tony nomination for his work in 
Chekhov’
s Inavov. He starred in 
many plays, including one at the 
Jewish Ensemble Theatre (JET) in 
West Bloomfield under JET found-
er Evelyn Orbach. Chris Bremer, 
who also worked with Wright at 
JET, has fond memories of Wright’
s 
appearance on JET’
s stage.
“Max was kind enough to grace 
our stage about 11 years ago in Old 
Wicked Songs,” Bremer said. “When 
he was performing, he was stellar.”
Bremer went on to discuss 
Wright’
s varied talents, saying he 
and co-star Daniel Kahn played the 
piano live during the show. “It was 
a fabulous show,” Bremer said. “We 
were very lucky to have Max here.”
Wright is survived by his two 
children and will live on in the 
hearts of his fans.

— Jessie Cohen, JN Intern

NBC 

W
e hear kind words consistently
.W
e’re proud that
people feel comfortable enough with us to openly tell
us how much they appreciate what we did for them.
In fact,it’s this appreciation that drives us to offer the
very best in comfort,compassion and service.

‘‘They were
wonderful.
’’

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www.thedorfmanchapel.com
30440 Twelve Mile Road
Farmington Hills • MI 48334
248.406.6000
TOLL FREE 1-866-406-6003
Licensed Funeral Directors: 
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