ENTERTAINMENT
is that he is a fairly accomplished player in his
own right playing for the University of Western
Ontario as well as a short stint on the LA Sharks
of the Western Hockey League. He plays to this
day devoting a lot of this time to charity hockey
games in California as well as Canada. “I’ve played
with guys like Corey Perry, Steven Stamkos, and
Darcy Tucker recently, as well as legends like
Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.
Their strength and speed is something you can
only get an idea of by being on the ice alongside
them”. (Canada and hockey take centre stage
when “Unusually Thicke” features an episode
from Barrie, Ontario for a celebrity game)
Growing Pains gave him a stage and, as always,
he worked it. (Along with every Miss Universe
pageant he could get his hands on) In the midst
show and you can all join me in a collective
“Thank God for that”! “I’ve been approached for
a show of this type for 3-4 years”, Thicke says.
“The network(s) always wanted a traditional
reality show but I didn’t want to do that…too
boring. This time, we’ve set out to tweak the
reality format to give it a sitcom structure”. The
main characters accompanying Alan are his
sixteen year old son, Carter Thicke, who seems
to have adopted some of his father’s mischievous
charm, and wife Tanya, an ex-Bolivian beauty
queen with a strong will and a lack of appreciation for Alan’s hockey skate collection.
According to Thicke, “Unusually Thicke shows all
of us having a few laughs and enjoying our lives,
but with a structure.” He goes on to say, “It isn’t
just a matter of being followed around by cameras
I am really just a fly on the wall watching Robin’s success.
The most important thing though is that he is staying
grounded and taking his success in stride.
of this success it was, and is, his small town
Kirkland Lake, Ontario roots which made him so
lovable. Thicke says, “Despite any form of success I am always aware of the distance and the
journey that has brought me here. I never take
anything for granted. Being from a small town in
Ontario kept me humble and taught me the value
of a strong work ethic”. Even speaking to Alan
Thicke, you immediately feel that he is interested
in who you are, not what he can get from you.
Admittedly his professionalism has been honed
over years of being on both sides of an interview, yet his appreciation of life and connection
is something that is just too hard to fake.
Alan Thicke is that endearing guy that everyone
wants at the party. He’s charming, witty, and is
determined to have a great conversation with
everyone from the host to the cleaning staff.
This quality of authenticity really comes out in
Slice’s newest edition to the reality show circuit,
“Unusually Thicke”. It’s not your typical reality
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Fall 2014 1961 Magazine
and us adlibbing in our underwear. Every scene
that is shot has a point to it which contributes to
the end product”. So yes, the show is staged but
then again so is every reality show. The difference
is that “Unusually Thicke” has a level of awareness
not to be ashamed of it and to use it as a tool. By
copping to it, Thicke brings us all in on the joke
that there is nothing as phony as reality TV. And
honestly, I think he knows that the genre is painfully cliché but is taking a stab at the low hanging
fruit for the sheer purpose of having a laugh.
So what can we expect from “Unusually Thicke”?
Predictably, Thicke opened up his Hollywood
rolodex and got a few celebrity guests to come
in on the fun such as Bob Saget, David Hasselhoff, John Stamos, and Bill Maher. And of course,
what would a reality show starring a hockey
playing Canadian be without an appearance from
Wayne Gretzky, a family friend for decades.
To no one’s surprise, eldest son Robin Thicke,
the international pop sensation will feature