"Growing Pains" father Dr. Jason Seaver (a psychiatrist in that American sitcom), Alan Willis Thicke in real life, died of a heart attack while playing hockey with his son. He was 69. Thicke's co-star in the TV series, Leonardo DiCaprio penned a touching post about the actor.
Thicke in DiCaprio's Life
Leonardo DiCaprio was a nobody then. ABC's "Growing Pains" ran from 1985 to 1992. He played Luke Brower who is a homeless boy taken in by the Seaver family when Mike Seaver, played by Kirk Cameron, discovered him sleeping in a supply closet.
In real life Thicke made an impact on the superstar. "When you see (him) enter a room you would see no one was cooler," DiCaprio wrote on his Facebook page. The plot of "Growing Pains" reflects the kind hearted person Hollywood is mourning today.
The Seaver family had no choice but to move to New York because Maggie (played by Joanna Kerns), who is Dr. Seaver's wife, has to go back to work as a reporter. Dr. Seaver, Thicke, has to take care of their three kids which later on became 4 then 5 because they took in Brower, who was played by DiCaprio. Spanning a career that lasted half a century, Thicke recently said in his last interview on Dec. 3 that since he almost already had done everything he would like to do "lots of things better."
Versatility of Thicke
He was a Canadian actor, songwriter and a game and talk show host. But he would always be remembered as Dr. Seaver, the kind-hearted father with his witty remarks. As to how he loved the show he mentioned that the show did great things for him, his career and his family "and if that's what goes on my tombstone then I'm perfectly comfortable with it." Thicke was survived by his three children and two grandchildren.
