Beloved ‘Growing Pains’ Star Alan Thicke Dead at 69

The list of shocking celebrity deaths in 2016 grew longer when Growing Pains star Alan Thicke died on Tuesday. Thicke suffered a heart attack while playing hockey with his son, Carter, and was taken to a hospital in Burbank, Calif., where he died.

Thicke is best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver, the beloved father on the long-running ABC sitcom Growing Pains. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the role In 1988.

Before finding success on Growing Pains, Thicke hosted a hit Canadian daytime talk show in the early ’80s called The Alan Thicke Show. He would go on to host many major television events, including the Miss USA Pageant.

Like his son, Robin, Thicke was also a singer-songwriter, composing theme songs for many shows, a few of which included Wheel of Fortune, Diff’rent Strokes, and Facts of Life.

After his time on Growing Pains, Thicke made numerous TV guest appearances on such shows as The Bold and the Beautiful and How I Met Your Mother. Most recently, Thicke appeared on NBC’s This Is Us, his own reality show Unusually Thicke, and the Netflix series Fuller House. Thicke even tweeted about the show shortly before his death, saying, “Season 2 Fuller House looking good. I even like the ones I’m not in.”

Earlier this month, Thicke was presented with the Icon Award at the Whistler Film Festival. And after an iconic career, he’ll always be remembered as one of America’s favorite TV dads.