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Alan Thicke | |
|---|---|
 Thicke in 2003 | |
| Born | Alan Willis Jeffrey (1947-03-01)1 March 1947 Kirkland Lake,Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 13 December 2016(2016-12-13) (aged 69) |
| Resting place | Santa Barbara Cemetery,Santa Barbara, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Alan Willis Thicke |
| Alma mater | University of Western Ontario |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, composer, television host |
| Years active | 1969–2016 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingRobin Thicke |
| Relatives | Todd Thicke (half-brother) |
Alan Willis Thicke (néJeffrey; 1 March 1947 – 13 December 2016) was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singerRobin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitcomGrowing Pains onABC. In 2013, he was inducted intoCanada's Walk of Fame.
Thicke was born on 1 March 1947 inKirkland Lake,Ontario, the son of Shirley "Joan" Isobel Marie (née Greer), a nurse, and William Jeffrey, a stockbroker.[2] They divorced in 1953. His mother remarried Brian Thicke, a physician, and they moved toElliot Lake.[3] Alan Thicke graduated fromElliot Lake Secondary School in 1965[4] and was electedhomecoming king.[5] He went on to attend theUniversity of Western Ontario, joining theDelta Upsilon fraternity.[6]
Thicke hosted the Canadian game showFace the Music forCHCH-TV by Niagara Television in 1975 (not affiliated with Sandy Frank Productions'1980-81 version). He hosted the Canadian game showFirst Impressions on the CTV network during the 1976–77 season, taped atCFCF-TV in Montreal,[7] the Saturday morning celebrity game showAnimal Crack-Ups in the late 1980s,[8] and, in 1997, a television version of the board gamePictionary.[2] In the early 2000s, he hosted theAll New 3's a Crowd on theGame Show Network.[2]
Norman Lear hired Thicke to produce and head the writing staff ofFernwood 2 Night, a tongue-in-cheek talk show based on characters from Lear's earlier show,Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.[9] In the late 1970s, he was a frequent guest host ofThe Alan Hamel Show, a popular daytime talk show on Canadian TV, usually hosted byAlan Hamel.[10] When the Hamel series ended in the early 1980s, it was replaced byThe Alan Thicke Show. The show at one point spawned a prime-time spinoff,Prime Cuts, which consisted of edited highlights from the talk show.[citation needed]
Thicke was later signed to do a US syndicated late-night talk show,Thicke of the Night, for the 1983–1984 TV season. Heavily promoted prior to broadcast as a competitor to NBC'sThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,Thicke of the Night was short-lived.[9]
Thicke had a successful career as a TV theme song composer, often collaborating with his then-wife Gloria Loring on these projects, which included the themes to the popular sitcomsDiff'rent Strokes andThe Facts of Life.[10] He also wrote a number of TV game show themes, includingThe Wizard of Odds (for which he also sang the vocal introduction),[11]The Joker's Wild,Celebrity Sweepstakes,The Diamond Head Game,Animal Crack-Ups (which he co-wrote with his brotherTodd Thicke and Gary Pickus),Blank Check,Stumpers!Whew![12] and the original theme toWheel of Fortune.[13] Thicke was a popular songwriter. He co-wrote "Sara", a solo hit forBill Champlin and included on the latter'sRunaway album (1981).[14]
Thicke produced a variety of television shows, includingAnne Murray Christmas specials for theCBC, beginning in the late 1970s.[15]
Thicke became well known when he played Jason Seaver, a psychiatrist and father, on the family sitcomGrowing Pains.[16] When the show began, Jason was moving his psychiatry practice into the home to be closer to the family's children while the family matriarch Maggie, played byJoanna Kerns, resumed her career as a reporter.[17]Growing Pains debuted on ABC in 1985 and ran until 1992.[16][18] For his role, Thicke was nominated for aGolden Globe award in 1988.[citation needed]
Thicke reprised his role in two reunion TV movies,The Growing Pains Movie (2000)[19] andGrowing Pains: Return of the Seavers (2004).[20]
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Thicke co-hosted theWalt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade (now theDisney Parks Christmas Day Parade) withJoan Lunden from 1983 to 1990, when he was succeeded byRegis Philbin.[21] Thicke also hosted the 1987 and 1988 Crystal Light National Aerobic Championships.[22][23]
In 1987, Thicke appeared as Dr.Jonas Carson, who creates anandroid that looks just like a human teenage boy (played byJay Underwood), and he "adopts" him as his son in theDisney Channel filmNot Quite Human. Thicke reprised his role as Jonas Carson in two sequels, 1989'sNot Quite Human II and 1992'sStill Not Quite Human.
In 1988, he hosted theMiss USA Pageant inEl Paso, Texas, replacingBob Barker (who quit over fur being involved in the pageants).[24] He replaced Barker again as host of the 1988 Miss Universe Pageant (along withTracy Scoggins) inTaipei, Taiwan.[25] Thicke was replaced byDick Clark as host of the 1989 Miss USA Pageant inMobile, Alabama[26] and byJohn Forsythe as host of the 1989Miss Universe Pageant inCancún, Mexico.[27]
Thicke continued to host a wide range of variety TV events. In 1989, he co-hosted withSCTV alumnaAndrea Martin the TV specialOpening ofSkyDome in Toronto, which aired across Canada on theCBC.[28][29] In 2004, he hosted theMiss Universe Canada Pageant in Ontario.
In 1992, Thicke appeared as himself in the pilot episode of the sitcomHangin' with Mr. Cooper. He appeared in the end-credits scene, alongside series starMark Curry, humorously referencing the pilot episode being filmed on the same set used as the Seavers' home onGrowing Pains. He also made guest appearances on shows such asMurder, She Wrote,Married... with Children,Son of the Beach and7th Heaven.
From 1995 to 1996, Thicke appeared on the American television seriesHope & Gloria, which ran for 35 episodes.[30] In March 2002, Thicke participated in a celebrity version ofFear Factor. In May 2002, he appeared in the season six finale ofJust Shoot Me, "The Boys in the Band."[31] From 2006 to 2009, Thicke was talk show host Rich Ginger onThe Bold and the Beautiful.[32]
From 2001 to 2003, Thicke hostedAnimal Miracles on thePax TV network. In April 2006, he hostedCelebrity Cooking Showdown onNBC, in which celebrities were teamed with famous chefs in a cooking competition.[33]
In 2008, Thicke appeared in a major supporting role as Jim Jarlewski in the television series adaptation ofDouglas Coupland'sjPod.[34] That same year, he had acameo appearance in theHow I Met Your Mother episode "Sandcastles in the Sand" as the dad inRobin Scherbatsky's second "Robin Sparkles" music video.[35] He guest starred as himself in the episodes "The Rough Patch", "Glitter", "P.S. I Love You", and "The Rehearsal Dinner".[36]
In February 2009, Thicke made guest appearances onAdult Swim'sTim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job. and the web seriesStar-ving.[37] He also had a role in the 2009 film,The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.[38] On 10 July 2009, Alan appeared on the 1000th episode ofAttack of the Show!, singing withKevin Pereira andOlivia Munn, kissing Olivia on lips in the end of the skit.[39]
Thicke made a guest appearance on a few episodes ofCanada's Worst Handyman 5.[40] In January 2010, Thicke appeared on the television program,Tosh.0.[41] In March 2010, he made an appearance inLa La Land as himself. In October 2010, he appeared as a celebrity contestant onDon't Forget the Lyrics, where he played for the charitiesProCon.org and the Alan Thicke Center fordiabetes research.[42]
In March 2013, he participated on ABC'sCelebrity Wife Swap. He swapped wives with comedianGilbert Gottfried.[43] From 2014 to 2015, Thicke starred in his own reality series,Unusually Thicke, which aired onPop.
In October 2016, Thicke appeared as himself in the pilot episode of NBC'sThis is Us.[44]
During 2014 and 2015 Thicke hosted a travelling dance showDancing Pros Live which toured the United States.[45]
In the 1990s, Thicke was the spokesman for the Canadian division ofWoolco department stores until its demise in 1994.[46] In 2007, Thicke appeared in a television ad forTahiti Village, a Las Vegastime-share resort.[47][48] In 2009, Thicke began appearing in TV ads endorsing CCS Medical, a distributor of home-delivered diabetes supplies.[49][unreliable source?] In 2014, he began representing Optima Tax Relief.[50]
From 2011, Thicke was the spokesperson for Cambridge Life Solutions, a Canadian company that promised to reduceunsecured consumer debt through a method known asdebt settlement, which had been outlawed in the United States by theFederal Trade Commission as a predatory practice in 2010 and was subsequently banned in Ontario in 2015. According to Scott Hannah, the president and CEO of the Credit Counseling Society of Canada, the company, which was accused of "bilking thousands of vulnerable Canadians" eventually dominated half of the Canadian market due to Thicke's hiring "as a spokesman who was very credible to Canadians."[51]
Thicke was married three times: His first marriage, toDays of Our Lives actressGloria Loring, lasted from 1970 until 1984; they had two sons, Brennan andRobin.[2] In 1987 at the age of 40, Thicke began dating 17-year oldKristy Swanson. Two years later, they were engaged but never married. He married his second wife,Miss World 1990Gina Tolleson, on 13 August 1994, and had a son, Carter William Thicke, before their divorce was finalized on 29 September 1999.[2] In 1999, he metTanya Callau in Miami, where he was a celebrity host and she was a model.[52] They were married from 2005 until his death.[53]
Thicke lent his name and star power to supporting the Alan Thicke Center for diabetes research.[54] Also, for several years in the mid-1980s, Thicke and Gloria Loring were co-hosts ofTelemiracle, an annual 20-hourtelethon that alternated betweenSaskatoon andRegina, Saskatchewan, to support programs run by theKinsmen Club.[citation needed]
On 13 December 2016, Thicke collapsed while playing ice hockey with his son Carter at Pickwick Gardens inBurbank, California. The manager of the rink said he was talking and even joked to his son to take a photo as he was being wheeled out on a stretcher.[55] Thicke died later that day of type-Aaortic dissection at theProvidence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, at age 69.[56][57] On 19 December 2016, the cast ofGrowing Pains, includingLeonardo DiCaprio, reunited at Thicke's funeral; a eulogy was given by his friendBob Saget, and his son,Robin, offered a humorous remembrance. He was buried at Santa Barbara Cemetery inSanta Barbara, California.[58]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Point! | Narrator / Father | Voice, third telecast |
| 1983 | Copper Mountain | Jackson Reach | |
| 1987 | Not Quite Human | Dr. Jonas Carson | |
| 1989 | Not Quite Human II | Dr. Jonas Carson | |
| 1991 | And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird | Matthew Carson / Newman | Voice |
| 1992 | Still Not Quite Human | Dr. Jonas Carson / Bonus | |
| 1993 | Stepmonster | George Dougherty | |
| Betrayal of the Dove | Jack West | ||
| 1995 | Open Season | Xanex | |
| 1996 | Demolition High | Slater | |
| 1998 | Anarchy TV | Reverend Wright | |
| Casper Meets Wendy | Baseball Announcer | ||
| 2000 | Bear with Me | Ken Robinson | |
| Ice Angel | Coach Parker | ||
| 2001 | Xin shi zi jie tou (X-Roads) | Steve | |
| Teddy Bears' Picnic | Himself | ||
| 2003 | Carolina | Chuck McBride – Perfect Date Host | |
| Hollywood North | Peter Casey | ||
| 2004 | Raising Helen | Hockey Cantor | |
| Childstar | J.R. | ||
| 2006 | Alpha Dog | Douglas Holden | |
| The Surfer King | Pipeman | ||
| 2009 | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard | Stu Harding | |
| RoboDoc | Dr. Roskin | ||
| 2012 | That's My Boy | TV Version Donny's Dad | |
| Hemingway | Paul Hemmingway | ||
| 2013 | Cubicle Warriors | Peter Hoss | |
| 2015 | Being Canadian | Himself | Documentary |
| 2017 | It's Not My Fault and I Don't Care Anyway | Patrick Spencer | Posthumous release |
| The Clapper | Himself | Posthumous release | |
| Love's Last Resort | Paul Roberts | Posthumous release (final film role) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | It's Our Stuff | Regular | |
| 1974 | Jack: A Flash Fantasy | Jack of Diamonds | |
| 1978 | America 2-Night | Doug | Episode: "I Am Democracy" |
| 1980–1982 | The Alan Thicke Show | Himself/host | Also writer and producer |
| 1983–1984 | Thicke of the Night | Also writer and executive producer | |
| 1984 | Masquerade | Episode: "Sleeper" | |
| The Love Boat | Alan Price / Robert McBride / Senator Bob Townsend | 3 episodes | |
| 1985 | Scene of the Crime | Craig Spears | Episode: "A Vote for Murder" |
| 1985–1992 | Growing Pains | Jason Seaver | |
| 1990 | The Hitchhiker | Mickey Black | Episode: "Tough Guys Don't Whine" |
| 1992 | Travelquest | Host | |
| 1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Harrison M. Kane | Episode: "The Phantom Killer" |
| 1994 | Burke's Law | Episode: "Who Killed the Beauty Queen?" | |
| 1995 | Minor Adjustments | Roger | Episode: "The Ex-Files" |
| Hope & Gloria | Dennis Dupree | ||
| 1996–1997 | Married... with Children | Henry / Bruce | 3 episodes |
| 1997 | The Outer Limits | Donald Rivers | Episode: "A Special Edition" |
| Pictionary | Host | ||
| 1999 | Arliss | Doctor | Episode: "Rules of the Game" |
| 2000 | Beggars and Choosers | Episode: "The Woodhouse Conundrum" | |
| Son of the Beach | Captain 'Buck' Enteneille / Captain Buck Enteneille | 3 episodes | |
| 2001 | 7th Heaven | Ed Palmer | Episode: "Parents" |
| 2001–2003 | Animal Miracles | Himself | Host |
| 2002 | Just Shoot Me! | Episode: "The Boys in the Band" | |
| 2003 | EGG, the Arts Show | Alan Scott | Episode: "Broadway Workshop" |
| 2004 | My Wife and Kids | Magician | Episode: "Fantasy Camp: Part 2" |
| 2005 | Yes, Dear | Joel | Episode: "The New Neighbors" |
| Half & Half | Gavin Storm | Episode: "The Big Mothers for Others Episode" | |
| Joey | Himself | Episode: "Joey and the Poker" | |
| 2006–2009 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Rich Ginger | 7 episodes |
| 2007 | Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide | Hal E. Burton | Episode: "Spring Fever & the School Newspaper" |
| 2008 | About a Girl | Dude's Dad | Episode: "About a Homecoming" |
| JPod | Jim Jarlewski | 13 episodes | |
| 2008–2013 | How I Met Your Mother | Himself | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show | Dr. Alan Thicke | Season 4, Episode 2 (The Cinco Napple) |
| 2010 | Canada's Worst Handyman 5 | Himself | |
| Tosh.0 | Episode: "Crystal Light Dancers (Reunion)" | ||
| 2011 | I'm in the Band | Simon Craig | 5 episodes |
| This Hour Has 22 Minutes | Himself | ||
| 2012 | The L.A. Complex | Donald Gallagher | 4 episodes |
| 2012 | Fugget About It | Richard Wheatthin | Episode: "Screw You, Mr. Wonderful" |
| 2013 | Celebrity Wife Swap | Himself | Season 2, episode 3 |
| 2014 | Unusually Thicke | Reality show; 14 episodes | |
| American Dad! | Episode: "Permanent Record Wrecker" | ||
| 2015 | Scream Queens | Tad Radwell | Episode: "Thanksgiving" |
| The Jack and Triumph Show | Himself | Episode: "Commercial" | |
| 2016 | Grandfathered | Episode: "Jimmy's 50th, Again" | |
| Mike Tyson Mysteries | Walter Morgan | Episode: "Unholy Matrimony" | |
| This is Us | Himself | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| The Eric Andre Show | David Alan Thicke (with David Alan Grier) / Himself | Season 4, Episode 9 | |
| Fuller House | Mike | Episode: "Mom Interference" | |
| Chopped Junior | Judge | Season 3, Episode 8 | |
| The Stanley Dynamic | Episode: "The Stanley Band" | ||
| 2017 | Chopped | Contestant | Season 33; 5 epi. "Star Power" tournament *Posthumous release |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Copper Mountain | Jackson Reach | |
| 1984 | Calendar Girl Murders | Alan Conti | |
| 1986 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star[59] | Steve Carr | |
| 1987 | Not Quite Human | Dr. Jonas Carson | |
| 1988 | 14 Going on 30 | The real Forndexter | |
| Obsessed | Conrad Vaughan | ||
| Dance 'til Dawn | Jack Lefcourt | ||
| 1989 | Not Quite Human II | Dr. Jonas Carson | |
| 1990 | Jury Duty: The Comedy[60] | Phil Beckman | |
| 1992 | The Trial of Red Riding Hood | The Wolf | |
| Still Not Quite Human | Dr. Jonas Carson/Bonus Carson | ||
| 1993 | Rubdown[61] | Raymond Holliman | |
| 1994 | Lamb Chop in the Haunted Studio | Alan | |
| 1995 | Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah[62] | Alan | |
| 1996 | Windsor Protocol | Senator Joplin Hardy | |
| Shari's Passover Surprise | Alan | ||
| The Secret She Carried | Reed Epperson | Uncredited | |
| 1997 | Shadow of the Bear | William Andrich | |
| Any Place But Home | August Danforth | ||
| 1998 | Thunder Point | Joplin Hardy | |
| Casper Meets Wendy | Baseball Announcer | ||
| 1999 | Two of Hearts | Hank Powers | |
| 2000 | Ice Angel | Coach Parker | |
| The Growing Pains Movie | Jason Seaver | ||
| 2004 | Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers | Jason Seaver | |
| 2010 | Making a Scene | The Producer | |
| 2013 | Camp Sunshine | Ken Handcourt | |
| Bad Management | Tobias Sr. | ||
| Let It Snow | Ted Beck | ||
| 2014 | A Cookie Cutter Christmas | Chef Kruger | |
| 2016 | Stop the Wedding | Sean Castleberry | |
| 2017 | Loves Last Resort | Paul Roberts |
Alan Thicke: Did not save a master reel. He didn't even remember doing the show. After much discussion, he gave the museum a written release so we can acquire anything the US Copyright office has regarding WHEW!
He recently popped up in the overflowing supporting cast of the raunchy car comedy The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, which was just released on DVD.
One of the last roles for the versatile Growing Pains star was a guest spot in the NBC dramedy's first episode. Thicke played himself — as well as the estranged father of the Manny, a.k.a. Kevin (Justin Hartley), in the goofy sitcom that Kevin starred in.
