We’re on the second day of our theme week on Aliens! Today we’re talking about Gordon Shumway, better known as ALF! He was the star of the TV show ALF, which ran for 4 seasons on NBC, from September 1986 through March 1990. ALF, which stands for “Alien Life Form”, is from the planet Melmac. He crash lands on Earth after his home planet is destroyed, landing in the Tanner family’s garage.
ALF was created by puppeteer Paul Fusco in 1984. Fusco also provided the voice for the character. The set of the show was built 4 feet above the ground, and there were trap doors all over so that ALF could appear anywhere. Fusco used his left hand to control ALF’s mouth and his right to move ALF’s right arm. A second puppeteer operated his left arm, while a third controlled ALF’s facial expressions and ear movements with a radio control off-screen. ALF was a technically difficult show to produce and was extremely demanding on the entire cast. One 30-minute episode could take an entire day to film. And many cast members weren’t happy playing second fiddle to an inanimate puppet.
ALF was extremely popular. In 1987, $250 million in merchandise was sold. ALF also appeared on many other popular TV shows, including Matlock, Blossom, and Hollywood Squares. The series ended abruptly with an unresolved cliffhanger. But a TV movie, Project: ALF, served as the finale for the franchise. There was also an animated spin-off series, and a huge flop of a talk show in 2004, called ALF’s Hit Talk Show. It only ran for 7 episodes and has been called one of the worst talk shows in history. A reboot of the show was announced in 2018, but later that year it was reported to be canceled. However, an article published in May 2020 stated that the reboot is now in the hands of HBO Max. If the reboot actually happens remains to be seen. Learn more here.