Alan Thicke, Canadian actor, game show host, and songwriter, passed away of a heart attack while playing hockey with his son, Carter, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1947, Thicke launched into the entertainment world on the Canadian television variety show, \u201cIt\u2019s Our Stuff,\u201d going on to serve as a producer on the parody talk show, \u201cFernwood 2 Night.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a career that reached back into the 1960s, Thicke was best known for his role as Dr. Jason Seaver, on ABC\u2019s \u201cGrowing Pains\u201d from 1985 to 1992. His portrayal of the kind-hearted psychiatrist and father on the beloved show is how many best remember the man.<\/p>\n
But even after the end of this sitcom, Thicke continued to forge ahead in his career, appearing in numerous television shows, authoring two books, hosting a late night talk show\u2014\u201cIn the Thicke of the Night,\u201d\u2014and serving as a game show host.<\/p>\n
Thicke was also a composer, scoring the original theme of \u201cThe Wheel of Fortune,\u201d \u201cThe Facts of Life,\u201d and \u201cDiff\u2019rent Strokes,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n
An avid hockey fan, he began playing at the age of 5, but was quick to admit that he wasn\u2019t very good at it, saying \u201cYou were expected to play. I was never good enough for the big time, but I always had fun with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stayed connected with the game throughout his life, however, even becoming friends with legendary player, Wayne Gretzky, whose wedding he emcee\u2019d.<\/p>\n
Thicke is survived by two sons from his first marriage to singer Gloria Loring, Brennan and Robin, who has gone on to become a successful musician, inheriting his father\u2019s musical abilities. He also has another son, Carter, with second wife Gina Marie Tolleson. Thicke had been to Tanya Callau since 2005.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alan Thicke, Canadian actor, game show host, and songwriter, passed away of a heart attack while playing hockey with his son, Carter, in Los Angeles. Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1947, Thicke launched into the entertainment world on the Canadian television variety show, \u201cIt\u2019s Our Stuff,\u201d going on to serve as a producer on the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":605,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[57,9,58],"class_list":["post-167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alan-thicke","tag-death","tag-growing-pains"],"yoast_head":"\n