Andrea Mandell

USA TODAY

TV star Alan Thicke died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack.

He was 69. Thicke's publicist, Monique Moss, confirmed the news of "Alan's sudden passing," and said "we have no further details."

The death was first reported by TMZ.

According to TMZ and the Los Angeles Times, the actor suffered heart failure while he was playing hockey with his 19-year-old son, Carter. He was transported to Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center around noon PT, and pronounced dead there.

Friends and fans react to Alan Thicke's unexpected death

"Today I lost my best friend and my idol, and the world lost one of it's finest," tweeted Carter Thicke late Tuesday night, sharing a photo of the two together. "You are a legend and I love you Pops. Until next time."

The Ontario-born actor achieved widespread fame as Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s ABC sitcom Growing Pains, playing the psychiatrist dad opposite Joanna Kerns.

Recently, Thicke appeared on Netflix's reboot, Fuller House. He also played himself in the pilot for NBC's latest hit, This Is Us, as a a guest star on the character Kevin's show, The Man-ny.

Earlier Tuesday on Twitter, Thicke praised the new season of Fuller House, released Friday, which he was hired to appear in this summer. "Season 2 Fuller House looking good. I even like the ones I’m not in!" he wrote.

Aside from his popular '80s patriarch, Thicke also had a career as a game show host and songwriter, composing memorable theme songs for classic shows including Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life and Wheel of Fortune.

He was nominated for three Emmy Awards for TV-show writing in the 1970s and nominated for a Golden Globe award for Growing Pains in 1988.

Soap actress Gloria Loring, who was married to Thicke from 1970 to 1983, called Thicke's death "a shock" on Facebook Tuesday.

"We were all just together for Thanksgiving. He was talented, funny and deeply devoted to his family," wrote Loring, who shares two sons with Thicke: the pop singer Robin Thicke, 39, and Brennan, 41.

Robin Thicke told the Los Angeles Times one of the last things his father said was a compliment to son Carter on a nice shot at the hockey rink.

“The good thing was that he was beloved and he had closure,” said Robin Thicke, crediting his father with being an inspiration for his own music career. “I saw him a few days ago and told him how much I loved and respected him.”

Thicke participated in a charity tennis tournament in Boca Raton, Fla. on Nov. 18.

He's been married to his third wife, Tanya Callau, since 2005. He had his youngest son, Carter, with his second wife, Gina Tolleson.