Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Entertainment
Rachael Revesz

Alan Thicke dead: 'Growing Pains' actor dies of heart attack aged 69

Actor Alan Thicke has died aged 69.

The Growing Pains star reportedly suffered a heart attack while playing hockey with his son. He was transported to a hospital in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon and pronounced dead.

The death was confirmed by his publicist to the Hollywood Reporter.

He is survived by his three sons, Brennan, Carter and Robin, the singer of Blurred Lines, and his wife, Tanya.

Most recently he starred in the Netflix series Fuller House.

In Growing Pains, which aired for seven seasons between 1985 and 1992, he played Jason Seaver, a psychiatrist who worked from home. In the final season, Leonardo DiCaprio played a homeless teenager who moved in with the family.

“Loved it. Proud of it. Proud of what it stood for,” he said in a 2010 interview about the show.

“I share the corny family values espoused on that show. Happy for the role, both, as I said, what it stood for and what it did for me and my life and my family and my career. So if that’s what goes on my tombstone, I’m perfectly comfortable with it.

Thicke hosted a daytime talkshow in Canada and then launched Thicke of the Night for an American audience in 1983. It lasted nine months.

He was a songwriter and writer of television comedies like the Richard Pryor Show.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.