Title: Thicke of the Night
Hosts: Alan Thicke
Band Leader: Tom Canning, John Tobin
Theme composers: Alan Thicke, David Foster, Jay Graydon
Format: One-hour late night syndicated talk show
Executive producers: Fred Silverman, Alan Thicke, Vince Calandra, Scott Steinberg, Andrew Epstein
Broadcast information: Originally broadcast in syndication.
Production company: MGM/UA Television, Metromedia Producers Corporation, InterMedia Entertainment Company
Distributor: MGM/UA Television Distribution, Turner Program Services, Warner Bros Television
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Premiere Date: Sept. 5, 1983
Final Episode: June 15, 1984
Brief History:
Everyone had high hopes for Thicke of the Night, back when it debuted in 1983. The late night talk show, poised to give The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson a run for its money, starred Alan Thicke, the popular Canadian talk show host. It was a sure bet that Thicke’s success up north would translate to American audiences.
In Canada, Thicke was host of The Alan Thicke Show, a daytime program that ran for three years: 1980 to 1983. Audiences loved the program. It was so popular that a primetime version, titled Prime Cuts, was created from daytime highlights. But more than that, they loved its affable host. Thicke had charm and charisma.
Thicke was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada. His likability won him top honors as his high school’s homecoming king and landed him in Delta Upsilon at the University of Western Ontario.
After graduation, Thicke found success on television, first as a game show host and later behind the camera as a producer and head writer on a tongue-in-cheek talk show titled Fernwood 2-Night.
That success led to The Alan Thicke Show. And The Alan Thicke Show’s wild ride landed him in Los Angeles with a primetime version for American audiences.
Strong competition
Marketing for the show was strong and every effort was made to give the program the power it needed to take on The Tonight Show. A slew of guests were lined up, many of them household names today, like Richard Belzer, Arsenio Hall, Gilbert Gottfried and Fred Willard
But the final product could not hold up against Johnny Carson’s brand. And critics never really understood the show. Perhaps it was too different, too cutting edge for audiences in 1983, many of whom were used to the tried and true format Carson perfected. And that relative newcomer David Letterman was playing with in the 12:30 hour.
By midseason, many television stations had dropped the show. To stave the bleeding, producers completely retooled the program. The hope was that be more closely emulating the show Thicke was successful with in Canada, they would be able to gain viewership in the states.
The Tom Canning Band was dropped and replaced by The John Tobin Band. Many of Thicke’s comedy cast were let go and he was joined by Gloria Loring, Thicke’s spouse at the time. Another addition was Wally George, an L.A.-based comic known for stirring up controversy. Still, the show never took flight and was cancelled at the end of the first year.
Bigger and better things
Thicke never returned to the talk show circuit, but struck gold just a year later landing the role of Jason Seaver on the ABC sit-com Growing Pains. That success would lead Thicke back to the game show circuit, hosting a TV version of the board game Pictionary.
Hosts: Alan Thicke
Band Leader: Tom Canning, John Tobin
Theme composers: Alan Thicke, David Foster, Jay Graydon
Format: One-hour late night syndicated talk show
Executive producers: Fred Silverman, Alan Thicke, Vince Calandra, Scott Steinberg, Andrew Epstein
Broadcast information: Originally broadcast in syndication.
Production company: MGM/UA Television, Metromedia Producers Corporation, InterMedia Entertainment Company
Distributor: MGM/UA Television Distribution, Turner Program Services, Warner Bros Television
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Premiere Date: Sept. 5, 1983
Final Episode: June 15, 1984
Brief History:
Everyone had high hopes for Thicke of the Night, back when it debuted in 1983. The late night talk show, poised to give The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson a run for its money, starred Alan Thicke, the popular Canadian talk show host. It was a sure bet that Thicke’s success up north would translate to American audiences.
In Canada, Thicke was host of The Alan Thicke Show, a daytime program that ran for three years: 1980 to 1983. Audiences loved the program. It was so popular that a primetime version, titled Prime Cuts, was created from daytime highlights. But more than that, they loved its affable host. Thicke had charm and charisma.
Thicke was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada. His likability won him top honors as his high school’s homecoming king and landed him in Delta Upsilon at the University of Western Ontario.
After graduation, Thicke found success on television, first as a game show host and later behind the camera as a producer and head writer on a tongue-in-cheek talk show titled Fernwood 2-Night.
That success led to The Alan Thicke Show. And The Alan Thicke Show’s wild ride landed him in Los Angeles with a primetime version for American audiences.
Strong competition
Marketing for the show was strong and every effort was made to give the program the power it needed to take on The Tonight Show. A slew of guests were lined up, many of them household names today, like Richard Belzer, Arsenio Hall, Gilbert Gottfried and Fred Willard
But the final product could not hold up against Johnny Carson’s brand. And critics never really understood the show. Perhaps it was too different, too cutting edge for audiences in 1983, many of whom were used to the tried and true format Carson perfected. And that relative newcomer David Letterman was playing with in the 12:30 hour.
By midseason, many television stations had dropped the show. To stave the bleeding, producers completely retooled the program. The hope was that be more closely emulating the show Thicke was successful with in Canada, they would be able to gain viewership in the states.
The Tom Canning Band was dropped and replaced by The John Tobin Band. Many of Thicke’s comedy cast were let go and he was joined by Gloria Loring, Thicke’s spouse at the time. Another addition was Wally George, an L.A.-based comic known for stirring up controversy. Still, the show never took flight and was cancelled at the end of the first year.
Bigger and better things
Thicke never returned to the talk show circuit, but struck gold just a year later landing the role of Jason Seaver on the ABC sit-com Growing Pains. That success would lead Thicke back to the game show circuit, hosting a TV version of the board game Pictionary.