Alan Thicke’s 19 year-old son Carter, who was with him when he died, shared his dad’s last words in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Alan Thicke was playing hockey with Carter at Pickwick Gardens skating rink in Burbank, California, when Alan passed out during their game. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he later died.
Carter said his dad was joking even as the ambulance came, and that he joked with the EMTs and asked Carter to take a picture of him as they took him away.
“That was kind of a moment of relief for me,” Carter told ET correspondent Keltie Knight, figuring that his dad must be OK if he was able to joke. “That’s why, obviously, how that day ended was quite a shock.”
Carter said his dad's last words were of pride for him, because Carter had scored a goal that day after his father passed him the puck.
“He’s in the emergency room, kind of bragging about it, and of course bragging that he was the one who passed me the puck, and he was saying ... ‘Oh, got to play hockey with my son and got to watch him score a goal — what a way to go out.’ Before he went into the operating room, I got to give him a hug and say, ‘I love you,’ and then that was the last time I saw him.”
“He was my go-to for everything, any advice I needed,” Carter told ET. “Especially with school, because he was way smarter than me. ... Every time I ever needed anything, the door was open. He was constantly there to give. And so growing up ... he was, like, the perfect dad. Anything I ever needed, he was there for.”
Thicke was best-known for his "Growing Pains" role as Jason Seaver. He died Dec. 13, 2016.