Alan Thicke's 'meteoric' rise remembered by London, Ont. friend

Prominent entertainers continue to paytribute to Alan Thicke, the Canadian-born actor who died Tuesdayof a heart attack, best known for his role as father figureDr. JasonSeaveron the sitcom, Growing Pains.

But the 69-year-oldalso produced television specials for performers such as singer Anne Murray and Johnny Cash, gothis start as a performer in London, Ont.

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Aftergraduating from Western University in the 1960s,Thicketook a job as an overnight announcer at CFPL Radio.

Bill Brady was an on-air personality at the time. Just prior toThicke'shire, Brady was asked to to be a judge at a talent show at the university.

"I went and thought there'd be a lot of pain to endure," Brady told CBC. "It turned out that some of the youngsters were very gifted. And Alan Thicke stood out as funny and bright and deliberate."

That's when their friendship began. Brady said Thicke performed two roles at the radio station. He wrote copy but showed more interest in playing the guitar. He also was the all-night DJ.

"And then the CBC called, and he had a chance to go and work as a writer in...Toronto," Brady said. "And he never really looked back after that."

Lifelong friends

The two remained friends throughout Thicke's career with Brady being invited to one of Thicke's weddings.

"I knew his boys. He would stay in touch," Brady said. "If he was in Canada, he'd make sure he called. If he was going to be anywhere near us, we'd try to see him. We followed his career closely and it was pretty meteoric."

Thicke regularly visited London, where he established the Alan Thicke Centre for Juvenile Diabetes. He came back several times to help with various causes, but was mostly interested in doing fundraisers for medical research. Brady remembers Thicke as a versatile performer with a variety of natural talent.

"He could do comedy, he could sing, he played the guitar. He could write music," Brady said. "He was a consummate entertainer."