Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Facts of Life star Mindy Cohn are paying tribute to Alan Thicke's lesser-known songwriting career.
Thicke, who passed away from a heart attack on Tuesday, was a celebrated sitcom star, but the 69-year-old actor also made a living as a talented composer penning theme songs for The Facts of Life, Diff’rent Strokes, Wheel of Fortune, and more classic shows.
"I'll miss a lot about @Alan_Thicke, but his songwriting particularly defined my childhood," Miranda tweeted Tuesday, with a link to a fan-edited video featuring The Facts of Life theme song.
Like the Hamilton creator, Cohn spotlighted Thicke's work on The Facts of Life in a heartwarming Twitter post.
"RIP to the man who wrote #thefactsoflife theme song, my co-host of the radio show TalkZone & a true gentleman of our business #AlanThicke," she wrote.\
Buffy star Gellar also noted Thicke's songwriting credits, which she called her "childhood jams."
"I grew up loving #AlanThicke, and #factsoflife and #differentstrokes [sic] theme songs were my childhood jams #RIPAlanThicke," Gellar tweeted.
While Thicke's sudden death left fans, friends and his Growing Pains co-stars in shock, the Canadian-born TV legend's ex-wife remains heartbroken by the devastating loss.
"He loved his family so much," Gloria Loring, who co-wrote many of Thicke's most famous TV jingles, told ET on Wednesday. "He was the centerpiece to our family and I can't imagine going forward. We always had Thanksgiving and Christmas with the big, extended family, and I just can't imagine how it's going to be without him."
