America’s favourite dad returns north of the border to share his passion for hockey.
1. He practically invented the celebrity hockey game.
A hockey-mad native of Kirkland Lake, Ont., Thicke moved to L.A. in the early ’80s, and he deserves much of the credit for introducing Southern California to the coolest game on ice. “I put together the very first celebrity team in Hollywood, many, many years ago. Myself, Alex Trebek, and Matthew Perry’s father, we put together that team, and it’s flourished—celebrity hockey has become a bit of an institution now.” Thicke still spends as much time as he can playing in charity games with retired pros, most notably at the fantasy camp put on by his good buddy Wayne Gretzky.
2. So it only makes sense that he’s defending a hockey book as part of CBC’s annual Canada Reads competition.
In this month’s literary battle, Thicke is stumping for Ken Dryden’s legendary memoir The Game. As a lifelong Montreal Canadiens fan, the subject is very close to Thicke’s heart. “Much of what Ken talks about, with his career in the ’70s, were games that I followed intimately. In some cases, I was even at the games he describes in the book!” Thicke says his strategy will be to argue that The Game is far more than a mere tale of sticks and pucks. “It represents everything about the Canadian character: It’s about family, adversity, challenge, aspiring to excellence, humility in the face of victory, and compassion in the face of defeat. It’s very human.”
3. Though his most famous role will always be Jason Seaver, he’s now settling comfortably into the role he was born to play.
Between Thicke’s recurring guest spot on How I Met Your Mother, his cameo in the upcoming Adam Sandler flick Donny’s Boy, and his new celeb gossip spoof Alan Thicke’s Hot Package, he now spends the majority of his on-screen time playing himself. He says this trend has a lot to do with nostalgia. “We’re 20 years removed from Growing Pains, and the people who grew up on that show are now running the networks and studios. They like me to be the dorky dad, and I can do that in my sleep!”
4. Having found fame as America’s Dad, he’s accrued a great deal of wisdom to share with his celebrity son.
Thicke says he’s never stopped parenting, since his R&B star son Robin frequently comes to him for advice on how to cope with life in the public eye. The biggest piece of advice he’s imparted? Identify your brand and stick to it. “There’s always a tendency in this business to depart completely from who you are and what got you there,” he says. “When we stray too far from [our identity], we disappoint our fanbase. It’s important to be loyal to the people who are loyal to you. That’s the main advice I give him. That, and don’t party too hard.”
Canada Reads live tapings take place Feb. 6–9 at 9–11 a.m. at the CBC Broadcast Centre, 250 Front St. W. The debates air Feb. 6–9 at 11 a.m. on CBC Radio One (99.1 FM).
