There have been a lot of rotten celebrity deaths in 2016, a year that saw the passing of great cultural influencers like Prince, David Bowie, Gene Wilder and Muhammad Ali — not to mention indelible TV moms Florence Henderson and Doris Roberts. But it was the passing of a famous TV dad that gave Howard Stern pause this week, as he remembered Alan Thicke as a friend and sometime colleague who was “so nice to us.”
[Alan Thicke’s Last TV Appearance On ‘This Is Us’ Extra Poignant Now]
Stern said that Thicke used to guest on Stern’s show back when “we couldn’t get anyone to come on the show.” Stern said “the only one who would come on was Alan Thicke.” Thicke was a quick wit who fit right in on the Stern set, of course — and he had the voice for radio, even if the handsome actor also had the face for television. Thicke even guest-starred on Howard Stern’s Son of the Beach TV show, playing Captain Buck.