Alan Thicke has passed away at the age of 69, his publicist says.
TMZ first reported Thicke died after he suffered a heart attack while playing hockey with his son Carter.
As an actor, Thicke was best known for his role as Dr. Jason Seaver on the ABC sitcom “Growing Pains”.
Born on March 1, 1947 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Thicke grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan, but eventually morphed into a Los Angeles Kings fan when he moved to Hollywood. And he had a special connection with that team, and a notable link to the biggest trade in Kings history.
On August 9, 1988, Gretzky was traded from Edmonton to Los Angeles. Thicke was in Norway at the time and Gretzky was house-sitting for him. He re-told the story to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox in 2012:
“He was house-sitting at my house in L.A. the night he got traded. I was in Norway with my other son (Brennan), and Wayne and Janet were house-sitting for my son Robin (11 years old at the time). I called from Norway because I picked up the Oslo morning paper and saw pictures of Gretzky — but I couldn’t understand the text, of course. And I thought maybe there had been a fire, a mudslide, a drive-by shooting, who knows? So I called home, and I learned Wayne left early in the morning; he got traded last night. He got the call at about 9 p.m., and he was gone by 6 the next morning. So we had to find a substitute nanny instantly, which is not as bad as what Edmonton had to find to replace him.”
Thicke also sang the opening tune at the 1988 NHL Awards:
After learning the news of Thicke’s passing Tuesday, the hockey world sent its condolences to the Thicke family.
