Alan Willis Thicke (né Jeffrey; 1 March 1947 – 13 December 2016) was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains on ABC. In 2013, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
Contents
Early life
Thicke was born on 1 March 1947 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, the son of Shirley "Joan" Isobel Marie (née Greer), a nurse, and William Jeffrey, a stockbroker. They divorced in 1953. His mother remarried Brian Thicke, a physician, and they moved to Elliot Lake. Taking his stepfather's name, Thicke graduated from Elliot Lake Secondary School in 1965. He went on to attend the University of Western Ontario, joining the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
Career
Hosting
Thicke hosted the Canadian game show Face the Music for CHCH-TV by Niagara Television in 1975 (not affiliated with Sandy Frank Productions' 1980-81 version). He hosted the Canadian game show First Impressions on the CTV network during the 1976–77 season, taped at CFCF-TV in Montreal, the Saturday morning celebrity game show Animal Crack-Ups in the late 1980s, and, in 1997, a television version of the board game Pictionary. In the early 2000s, he hosted the All New 3's a Crowd on the Game Show Network.
Norman Lear hired Thicke to produce and head the writing staff of Fernwood 2 Night, a tongue-in-cheek talk show based on characters from Lear's earlier show, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. In the late 1970s, he was a frequent guest host of The Alan Hamel Show, a popular daytime talk show on Canadian TV, usually hosted by Alan Hamel. When the Hamel series ended in the early 1980s, it was replaced by The Alan Thicke Show. The show at one point spawned a prime-time spinoff, Prime Cuts, which consisted of edited highlights from the talk show.
Thicke was later signed to do an American 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's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Thicke of the Night was short-lived.
Producing and composing
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 sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life. He also wrote a number of TV game show themes, including The Wizard of Odds (for which he also sang the vocal introduction), The Joker's Wild, Celebrity Sweepstakes, The Diamond Head Game, Animal Crack-Ups (which he co-wrote with his brother Todd Thicke and Gary Pickus), Blank Check, Stumpers!, Whew!, and the original theme to Wheel of Fortune. Thicke was a popular songwriter. He co-wrote "Sara", a solo hit for Bill Champlin and included on the latter's Runaway album (1981).
Thicke produced a variety of television shows, including Anne Murray Christmas specials for the CBC, beginning in the late 1970s.
Growing Pains
Thicke became well known when he played Jason Seaver, a psychiatrist and father, on the family sitcom Growing Pains. 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 by Joanna Kerns, resumed her career as a reporter. Growing Pains debuted on ABC in 1985 and ran until 1992. For his role, Thicke was nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1988.
Thicke reprised his role in two reunion TV movies, The Growing Pains Movie (2000) and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers (2004).
Television and film appearances
Thicke co-hosted the Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade (now the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade) with Joan Lunden from 1983 to 1990, when he was succeeded by Regis Philbin. Thicke also hosted the 1987 and 1988 Crystal Light National Aerobic Championships.
In 1987, Thicke appeared as Dr. Jonas Carson, who creates an android that looks just like a human teenage boy (played by Jay Underwood), and he "adopts" him as his son in the Disney Channel film Not Quite Human. Thicke reprised his role as Jonas Carson in two sequels, 1989's Not Quite Human II and 1992's Still Not Quite Human.
In 1988, he hosted the Miss USA Pageant in El Paso, Texas, replacing Bob Barker (who quit over fur being involved in the pageants). He replaced Barker again as host of the 1988 Miss Universe Pageant (along with Tracy Scoggins) in Taipei, Taiwan. Thicke was replaced by Dick Clark as host of the 1989 Miss USA Pageant in Mobile, Alabama and by John Forsythe as host of the 1989 Miss Universe Pageant in Cancún, Mexico.
Thicke continued to host a wide range of variety TV events. In 1989, he co-hosted with SCTV alumna Andrea Martin the TV special Opening of SkyDome in Toronto, which aired across Canada on the CBC. In 2004, he hosted the Miss Universe Canada Pageant in Ontario.
In 1992, Thicke appeared as himself in the pilot episode of the sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. He appeared in the end-credits scene, alongside series star Mark Curry, humorously referencing the pilot episode being filmed on the same set used as the Seavers' home on Growing Pains. He also made guest appearances on shows such as Murder, She Wrote; Married... with Children; Son of the Beach and 7th Heaven.
From 1995 to 1996, Thicke appeared on the American television series Hope & Gloria, which ran for 35 episodes. In March 2002, Thicke participated in a celebrity version of Fear Factor. In May 2002, he appeared in the season six finale of Just Shoot Me, "The Boys in the Band." From 2006 to 2009, Thicke was talk show host Rich Ginger on The Bold and the Beautiful.
From 2001 to 2003, Thicke hosted Animal Miracles on the Pax TV network. In April 2006, he hosted Celebrity Cooking Showdown on NBC, in which celebrities were teamed with famous chefs in a cooking competition.
Personal life
Thicke was married three times: His first marriage, to Days of Our Lives actress Gloria Loring, lasted from 1970 until 1984; they had two sons, Brennan and Robin. He married his second wife, Miss World 1990 Gina Tolleson, on 13 August 1994, and had a son, Carter William Thicke, before their divorce was finalized on 29 September 1999. In 1999, he met Tanya Callau in Miami, where he was a celebrity host and she was a model. They were married from 2005 until his death.
Thicke lent his name and star power to supporting the Alan Thicke Center for diabetes research. Also, for several years in the mid-1980s, Thicke and Gloria Loring were co-hosts of Telemiracle, an annual 20-hour telethon that alternated between Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, to support programs run by the Kinsmen Club.
Death
On 13 December 2016, Thicke collapsed while playing ice hockey with his son Carter at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank, 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. Thicke died later that day of type-A aortic dissection at the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, at age 69. On 19 December 2016, the cast of Growing Pains, including Leonardo DiCaprio, reunited at Thicke's funeral; a eulogy was given by his friend Bob Saget, and his son, Robin, offered a humorous remembrance. He was buried at Santa Barbara Cemetery in Santa Barbara, California.
Filmography
Books
Thicke, Alan (May 1999). How Men Have Babies: The Pregnant Father's Survival Guide. Contemporary Books. ISBN 978-0-8092-2806-5.
Thicke, Alan (27 April 2006). How To Raise Kids Who Won't Hate You: Family Wisdom and Humor from a Favorite TV Dad. iUniverse Star. ISBN 978-0-595-84288-9.
Honours
1982: Star named after him in the International Star Registry
1988: Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical for Growing Pains
1998: Nominated – Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Audience Participation Show/Game Show for Pictionary (co-executive producer)
2013: Inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame
2015: Brampton Arts Walk of Fame
2016: Canadian Icon award, Whistler Film Festival