PANELIST PROFILE

Alan Thicke is defending The Game by Ken Dryden.

Alan Thicke is a Canadian icon whose career as an actor and television personality spans more than 40 years.

He's best known to a whole generation as North America's favourite TV dad thanks to his role as Dr. Jason Seaver on the classic ABC sitcom Growing Pains.

Thicke has also hosted several late night talk shows and successful game shows throughout the years.

More recently, Thicke starred in the CBC-TV series jPod, based on the Douglas Coupland cult bestseller. He has also made noteworthy guest appearances on the CBS hit show How I Met Your Mother and the CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and appears in the upcoming 2012 film I Hate You, Dad, starring Adam Sandler and Susan Sarandon.

Thicke is also a successful songwriter/composer and author. He has written more than 45 television theme songs, including for popular sitcoms like Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life and the original Wheel of Fortune game show. Drawing on his own experience as a father of three boys, Thicke wrote several parenting books, including How Men Have Babies, published in 1999, and most recently, 2009's How to Raise Kids Who Won't Hate You: Bringing Up Rockstars and Other Forms of Children.

In the course of his lengthy career, Thicke has earned a number of prestigious award nominations. He's been up for seven Emmy Awards (five for writing and two for acting), one Golden Globe and a Gemini.

The actor is also an ardent hockey fan and helped bring hockey to Hollywood via celebrity hockey tournaments for charity.

Thicke was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, and currently resides in California.

Meet Alan Thicke in his Canada Reads video!

Hear about Alan's debate strategy in the Canada Reads podcast.