Thicke was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, the son of Shirley "Joan" Isobel Marie (née Greer), a nurse, and William Jeffrey, a stockbroker.

[6] 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).

Heavily promoted prior to broadcast as a competitor to NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Thicke of the Night was short-lived.

[10] He also wrote a number of TV game show themes, including The Wizard of Odds (for which he also sang the vocal introduction),[11] 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!

[14] Thicke produced a variety of television shows, including Anne Murray Christmas specials for the CBC, beginning in the late 1970s.

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.

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.

[33] In 2008, Thicke appeared in a major supporting role as Jim Jarlewski in the television series adaptation of Douglas Coupland's jPod.

[36] In February 2009, Thicke made guest appearances on Adult Swim's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job.

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.

[47][48] In 2009, Thicke began appearing in TV ads endorsing CCS Medical, a distributor of home-delivered diabetes supplies.

"[51] 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.

[54] 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.

[citation needed] On 13 December 2016, Thicke collapsed while playing ice hockey with his son Carter at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank, California.

[55] Thicke died later that day of type-A aortic dissection at the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, at age 69.

[56][57] 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.