Alan Thicke
| Alan Thicke | |
|---|---|
 Thicke at the "Night of 100 Stars", at the Beverly Hills Hotel, March 2010 |
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| Born | Alan Willis Jeffery March 1, 1947 Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, songwriter, composer, game show host, talk-show emcee |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Spouse(s) | Gloria Loring (1970–1983) Gina Tolleson (1994–1999) Tanya Callau (2005–present) |
| Children | Brennan Thicke Robin Thicke (both with Loring) Carter Thicke (with Tolleson) |
Alan Thicke (born Alan Willis Jeffery; March 1, 1947) is a Canadian actor, comedian, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the patriarch on the ABC television series Growing Pains.
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Early life [edit]
Thicke was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada, the son of Joan, a nurse, and William Jeffery, a stockbroker.[1] His mother later married Brian Thicke, a physician. He graduated from Elliot Lake Secondary School in 1965, and was elected the homecoming king.[2] He went on to attend the University of Western Ontario, where he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
Career [edit]
Game shows [edit]
Thicke hosted a Canadian game show on CFCF-TV in Montreal called First Impressions in the late 1970s and the prime time celebrity game show Animal Crack-Ups in the late 1980s. In 1997, he hosted a television version of the board game Pictionary.[1] In the early 2000s, he hosted the All New 3's a Crowd on the Game Show Network.[1]
Talk shows [edit]
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.
Thicke was also the host of his own popular talk show in Canada during the early 1980s, called The Alan Thicke Show. The show at one point spawned a prime time spin-off titled Prime Cuts, which consisted of edited highlights from the talk show.
Based on the success of his talk show, Thicke was signed to do an American syndicated late-night talk show Thicke of the Night.
Theme song composer [edit]
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, Blank Check, Stumpers!, Whew!,[3] and the original theme to Wheel of Fortune. Thicke has also been a popular songwriter. As an example, he co-wrote "Sara," a solo hit for Bill Champlin and included on the latter's Runaway album (1981).
Television and film appearances [edit]
Apart from Growing Pains, Thicke also appeared on the American television series Hope & Gloria, which lasted 35 episodes. He played a lead role in the Not Quite Human trilogy of made for TV movies. In 2004, Thicke hosted the Miss Universe Canada pageant.[2] In April 2006, he hosted Celebrity Cooking Showdown on NBC, in which celebrities were teamed with famous chefs in a cooking competition.[2]
In August 2006 and 2007, Thicke made a few appearances as talk show host Rich Ginger on The Bold and the Beautiful.[2] Thicke also had a cameo appearance in the 2007 movie Alpha Dog as the father of the lead character's girlfriend.
In 2008, Thicke appeared in a major supporting role as Jim Jarlewski in the television series adaptation of Douglas Coupland's jPod.[2]
That year, he had a cameo appearance in the How I Met Your Mother episode "Sandcastles in the Sand" as the dad in Robin Scherbatsky's second "Robin Sparkles" music video.[4] He guest starred as himself in the episode "The Rough Patch". He appeared on a website made specifically for the show, canadiansexacts.org, featured in the episode "Old King Clancy".
In February 2009, Thicke made a guest appearance on adult swim's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job. In the same month, he made a guest appearance on the web series Star-ving.[5]
Thicke had a role in the 2009 film The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. On July 10, 2009, Thicke appeared on the 1000th episode of Attack Of The Show, and sang a song with Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn, at the end kissing Munn.
He appeared in the season 6 finale of Just Shoot Me, "The Boys in the Band". He made a guest appearance on a few episodes of Canada's Worst Handyman 5. In 2010 Thicke appeared on the television program, Tosh.0. In October 2010, he appeared as a celebrity contestant on Don't Forget the Lyrics, where he played for the charities ProCon.org and the Alan Thicke Center for diabetes research.[6]
In March 2013 Thicke participated on ABC's Celebrity Wife Swap. He swapped wives with comedian Gilbert Gottfried.[7]
Personal life [edit]
Thicke has been married three times. His first marriage to Days of our Lives actress Gloria Loring (1970–83) produced two sons, Brennan and Robin.[1] His second marriage to Miss World 1990 Gina Tolleson (1994–99) produced a third son, Carter William (1997).[1] In 1999, he met Tanya Callau in Miami where he was the celeb host, she the model. They married in 2005.[2][8] Thicke once dated actress Kristy Swanson.[9]
His son Brennan was a voice actor for cartoons when he was younger. His son Robin is a platinum album-selling musician.
His mother-in-law was linked in the murder of Dutch farmer Petrus Jacobus Gerardus Dekker.[10]
Filmography [edit]
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Films [edit]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Point! | Narrator/Father (voice; third telecast) |
| 1983 | Copper Mountain | Jackson Reach |
| 1984 | Calendar Girl Murders | Alan Conti |
| 1991 | And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird | Matthew Carson / Newman (voice) |
| 1993 | Betrayal of the Dove | Jack West |
| 1995 | Open Season | Xanex |
| 1998 | Anarchy TV | Reverend Wright |
| 2000 | Bear with Me | |
| 2001 | Xin shi zi jie tou | Steve |
| 2003 | Hollywood North | Peter Casey |
| 2003 | Carolina | Chuck McBride – Perfect Date Host |
| 2004 | Raising Helen | Hockey Cantor |
| 2004 | Childstar | J.R. |
| 2006 | The Surfer King | Pipeman |
| 2006 | Alpha Dog | Douglas Holden |
| 2009 | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard | Stu Harding |
| 2009 | RoboDoc | Dr. Roskin |
| 2010 | Making a Scene | The Producer |
Television movies [edit]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star | Steve Carr |
| 1987 | Hitting Home | Conrad Vaughan |
| 1987 | Not Quite Human | Dr. Jonas Carson |
| 1988 | 14 Going on 30 | The real Forndexter |
| 1988 | Dance 'til Dawn | Jack Lefcourt |
| 1989 | Not Quite Human II | Dr. Jonas Carson |
| 1990 | Jury Duty: The Comedy | Phil Beckman |
| 1992 | The Trial of Red Riding Hood | The Wolf |
| 1992 | Still Not Quite Human | Dr. Jonas Carson |
| 1993 | Rubdown | Raymond Holliman |
| 1994 | Lamb Chop and the Haunted Studio | Alan |
| 1995 | Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah | Alan |
| 1996 | Windsor Protocol | Senator Joplin Hardy |
| 1996 | Shari's Passover Surprise | Alan |
| 1996 | The Secret She Carried | Reed Epperson (uncredited) |
| 1997 | Shadow of the Bear | William Andrich |
| 1997 | Any Place But Home | August Danforth |
| 1998 | Thunder Point | Joplin Hardy |
| 1998 | Casper Meets Wendy | Baseball Announcer |
| 1999 | Two of Hearts | Hank Powers |
| 2000 | Ice Angel | Coach Parker |
| 2000 | The Growing Pains Movie | Jason Seaver |
| 2004 | Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers | Jason Seaver |
| 2008 | Mother Goose Parade |
Television series [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | It's Our Stuff | Regular | |
| 1969 | Time for Living | Regular | |
| 1974 | Jack: A Flash Fantasy | Jack of Diamonds | |
| 1978 | America 2-Night | Doug | Episode: "I Am Democracy" |
| 1983–84 | Thicke of the Night | Host | |
| 1984 | Masquerade | Episode: "Sleeper" | |
| 1984/87 | The Love Boat | Alan Price / Robert McBride / Senator Bob Townsend | 3 episodes |
| 1985 | Scene of the Crime | Craig Spears | Episode: "A Vote for Murder" |
| 1985–92 | 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" |
| 1995–96 | Hope & Gloria | Dennis Dupree | |
| 1996/97 | Married... with Children | Bruce / Henry | 3 episodes |
| 1997 | The Outer Limits | Donald Rivers | Episode: "A Special Edition" |
| 1999 | Arliss | Doctor | Episode: "Rules of the Game" |
| 2000 | Beggars and Choosers | Episode: "The Woodhouse Conundrum" | |
| 2000–02 | Son of the Beach | Captain 'Buck' Enteneille / Captain Buck Enteneille | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | 7th Heaven | Ed Palmer | Episode: "Parents" |
| 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" |
| 2005 | Half & Half | Gavin Storm | Episode: "The Big Mothers for Others Episode" |
| 2005 | Joey | Himself | Episode: "Joey and the Poker" |
| 2006–09 | 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" |
| 2008 | JPod | Jim Jarlewski | 13 episodes |
| 2008/13 | How I Met Your Mother | Himself | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | Canada's Worst Handyman 5 | Himself | |
| 2010 | I'm in the Band | Simon Craig | 5 episodes |
| 2011 | This Hour Has 22 Minutes | Himself | |
| 2012 | The L.A. Complex | Donald Gallagher | 4 episodes |
Television commercials [edit]
In the 1990s, Thicke was the spokesman for the Canadian division of Woolco department stores until its demise in 1994.[11] In 1991 Thicke appeared in a television commercial for 'Fruit of the Loom' underwear. In 1997 he appeared in a television infomercial for the 'Bright Smile' tooth whitening system. He appeared in 2007 in a TV ad for the 'Tahiti Village' a Las Vegas time-share resort that went out of business in 2009. In 2009 Thicke began appearing in TV ads endorsing 'CCS Medical', a distributor of home-delivered diabetes supplies.[12][13][14][15][16]
Books authored by Alan Thicke [edit]
- Thicke, Alan (May 1999). How Men Have Babies: The Pregnant Father's Survival Guide. Contemporary Books. ISBN 978-0-8092-2806-5.
- Thicke, Alan (April 27, 2006). How To Raise Kids Who Won't Hate You. iUniverse Star. ISBN 978-0-595-84288-9.
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Alan Thicke Biography (1947–)". Fil Reference. NetIndustries, LLC. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Alan Thicke at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Whew! Credits". Television Production Music Museum. 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2010. "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!"
- ^ "Sandcastles In The Sand". How I Met Your Mother. Season 3. Episode 16. April 21, 2008. CBS.
- ^ "News and Updates". AlanThicke.com. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
- ^ "Don't Forget the Lyrics!". ProCon.org. October 20, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
- ^ www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/arts/television/gilbert-gottfried-on-celebrity-wife-swap.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Alan Thicke, Gilbert Gottfried Switch Wives
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1060124,00.html Growing Pains actor Alan Thicke, 58, married his longtime girlfriend, model Tanya Callau, 30, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on May 7
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19960730&id=XEAgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FH0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6785,7029139 "Vampire-slaying actress tells all"
- ^ "Alan Thicke Shocked". 10 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ Don't get me started!: reflections ... – Susan Mackie Smith – Google Books. Books.google.ca. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005484/otherworks
- ^ Weather & Time. "Does Alan Thicke have diabetes?". ChaCha. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ juliana (April 25, 2007). "Alan Thicke Hawking Las Vegas Time Shares". HotelChatter. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ^ Walters, Chris (June 24, 2009). "Alan Thicke Can't Save Tahiti Village Timeshare Company From Going Under". The Consumerist. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
External links [edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alan Thicke |
- Official website
- Alan Thicke at the Internet Movie Database
- Alan Thicke at the Internet Broadway Database
- Alan Thicke at Yahoo! Movies
| Preceded by Bob Barker |
Miss USA Host 1988 |
Succeeded by Dick Clark |
| Preceded by Bob Barker |
Miss Universe Host 1988 |
Succeeded by John Forsythe |
| Preceded by Brian Robbins |
Host, Pictionary 1997–1998 |
Succeeded by Defunct |
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- 1947 births
- Actors from Ontario
- American game show hosts
- American television talk show hosts
- Canadian expatriates in the United States
- Canadian film actors
- Canadian game show hosts
- Canadian emigrants to the United States
- Canadian television actors
- Canadian television talk show hosts
- Living people
- People from Kirkland Lake
- University of Western Ontario alumni
