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This story first appeared in the Aug. 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
The Hollywood Reporter gave Alan Thicke a less-than-enthusiastic review as a singer when he hosted and performed on 1983-84’s late-night show Thicke of the Night. It described the future Growing Pains star’s crooning style as middle-of-the-road “Rick Springfield with a delivery that looks like lip synch, even if it isn’t.”
But it appears the family’s musical talent skipped a generation. His 36-year-old son Robin‘s “Blurred Lines,” a sexy R&B dance megahit, has been No. 1 for six weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned three MTV VMA noms. Its videos (both the unrated and tamer versions) have received 100 million-plus views on Vevo. That critics have decried the song’s lyrics as “rapey,” which Robin Thicke has called “ridiculous,” probably has added to the view count.
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“I would never call myself a musician around Robin any more than I’d be a hockey player around Wayne Gretzky,” says Alan, 66, in a call from the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, where he is hosting the road version of Dancing With the Stars. “Someone asked if I was jealous about Robin’s success and fame, and I said, ‘You don’t have kids, do you?’ “
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