After actor Alan Thicke died suddenly in 2016, singer Robin Thicke lost one of his biggest supporters — but he never stopped feeling his father’s influence.
“Every time I talk to my son Julian, I feel for him because I say the same things he said to me,” he told PEOPLE in 2021. “When I was young, I wanted to be a rebel because my dad was Mr. Good boy. Now I just want to be as much like him as possible. In the end, all the advice he gave me was correct.”
Robin was born to actors Alan and Gloria Loring, their second son after the eldest Brennan. The two later divorced when Robin was young, but their musical influence had already piqued the boy’s interest, and he decided to follow his parents into the entertainment industry.
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Alan supported his son and even brought him to Growing pains set in 1991. When the then 13-year-old shared his career hopes with Party tonight during the visit, the actor spoke highly of Robin.
“I think we have to be flattered that kids want to follow in our footsteps as long as we don’t force them to,” Alan said. “It turns out he has a natural gift for music. He’s good at it.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Robin Thicke’s father, the late actor Alan Thicke.
He was a proud Canadian
Alan Thicke and son Robin Thicke at the “ABC TV Convention” on June 14, 1990.
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Alan was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada on March 1, 1947 to mother Shirley “Joan” Isobel Marie Thicke and father William Jeffrey Thicke.
The Hope & Gloria star was a proud Canadian and always supported other artists from his home country, as Robin recalled in a 2015 story. Prestige Hong Kong.
“Every time a Canadian achieves anything or just appears on TV, he’s like ‘Steve Nash MVP – Canadian!’ ” said Robin.
When he received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2013, he said he was proud to be a Canadian entertainer and hoped “part of it will be what I’m remembered for,” according to CBC news.
“It’s part of my identity, and the unique thing I carry with me is that I’m Canadian and we’re good people,” he added.
He was known for Growing pains and composing TV theme songs
Alan Thicke as Jason in ‘Growing Pains’.
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty
Alan became a household name while starring in the sitcom Growing pains from 1985 to 1992.
He played patriarch Dr. Jason Seaver, a psychiatrist who worked out of the family home office, alongside his castmates Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Jeremy Miller and a young Leonardo DiCaprio in the show’s final season.
He was also a musician and composed TV theme songs with his first wife, Loring, including the iconic opening songs for Different moves and Facts of life and the original topic to Wheel of Fortune.
He had three sons
Alan Thicke and sons Brennan Thicke and Robin Thicke were photographed on January 15, 1986 at the Bistro in Beverly Hills, California.
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
During 14 years of long marriage with Days of our lives actress and singer Loring, Alan became a dad for the first time when their son Brennan was born on March 10, 1974. A few years later, on March 10, 1977, the couple had Robin.
After Alan and Loring divorced in 1984, the actor married Gina Tolleson, a model and beauty queen who won Miss World 1994. Alan and Gina celebrated the arrival of their son Carter on July 10, 1997.
The late actor was a supportive dad to his children, although he wasn’t always a disciplinarian.
“All my children will tell you that I was too liberal, too lenient, too easy with them,” Alan said. Toronto Star in 2014.
The actor explained that his parenting style was more “casual,” not because he “didn’t care.” Alan continued, “Casual in the sense that you always kind of want to trust them and hope they’re smarter than teenagers really are.”
He died playing hockey with his youngest son
On December 13, 2016, Alan was playing hockey with his then 19-year-old son Carter when he complained of chest pains and an ambulance was dispatched to treat him.
Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Alan died at the age of 69 from a “rupture of the aorta” and “standard type A aortic dissection,” according to his official death certificate obtained by PEOPLE.
Carter later recalled the events leading up to his father’s death and the last words he spoke.
“The ambulance came and the paramedics stabilized him and everything seemed fine,” he said Party tonight 2017. “I had to hug him and say, ‘I love you,’ and that was the last time I saw him.”
“He was like the perfect father,” Carter added.
His death changed Robin’s life
Robin Thicke with his dad Alan Thicke at The Bank Nightclub at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on June 19, 2009.
Denise Truscello/WireImage
Years after his father’s death, Robin opened up about the turmoil he felt at the time and how it changed his life for the better. Masked singer The judge revealed that his son Julian helped him heal from the loss.
“I wasn’t in a good place when he passed away, and I wasn’t in a better place right after either,” he told PEOPLE in 2021. “However, a few months later, I decided to dedicate my time to raising my son, and that was really a huge turnaround. for me. Instead of focusing on my music, I focused on my son. That’s how I got through that period.”
Robin, who shares his eldest son with ex-wife Paula Patton and is now father to three more with fiancee April Love Geary, also realized he had to step up and be there for his little brother.
“When my father passed away, I became the patriarch of my family. My young 20-year-old brother needed a big brother, and I felt like now I had to take it on my shoulders to be a much better, more focused, man than I’ve been before,” Robin explained in a 2019 interview with Steve Harvey.
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Robin wrote a song for Alan after his death
Robin Thicke performs onstage during the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation’s 25th Anniversary “Taste for a Cure” event on April 29, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Rich Polk/Getty
The singer remembered Alan in a song on his 2021 album On Earth and in Heaven. At the time, he told PEOPLE that the song “That’s What Love Can Do” is “about my father passing the torch to me and the man I want to be.”
The Grammy-nominated artist said the song was inspired by a metaphor an old friend of Alan’s told Robin after his death.
“After my father’s death, I remember one of his friends saying: ‘A big tree has fallen.’ That’s what my dad was: a big tree,” he said. “Now here I am, this medium-sized tree, and I have to grow my branches and protect everyone. Every day I try to make it proud of me.”
Robin often posts tributes to Alan on social media
Robin Thicke with his dad Alan Thicke. Robin Thicke/Instagram
After Alan died in 2016, Robin began regularly remembering her father on Instagram, often posting sweet throwback photos and celebrating him on important days.
“6 years ago today, a large tree fell. We miss your smile, your big hugs and hilarious punches! I love you dad! I miss you every day! Long live Alan Thicke!” Robin wrote alongside an old picture of Alan in an Instagram post from December 2022.
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Source: HIS Education