Remembering Alan Thicke, one of northern Ontario's most famous sons

Alan Thicke, one of the most famous names and faces to come out of northern Ontario, has died at the age of 69.

The actor, best known as the star of 1980s sitcom Growing Pains, split his childhood between the mining towns of Kirkland Lake and Elliot Lake.

In a 2001 interview with CBC Radio's Morning North, Thickecalled growing up in the north "perfect," while joking that his parents thought it was safe to raise sons growing through puberty in cold, isolated towns.

"That was my background in terms of whatever I learned about values and life and family," Thicke said.

Thickewas born in Kirkland Lake, but his family moved to Elliot Lake when he was 13. It was there that he got his first on stage experience.

"It's hard to say if I was any good or not, because the reason I was hosting the variety show and acting in the high school drama was that nobody else wanted to do that," he remembered.

Hear the whole 2001 interview with Alan Thicke here: