lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (07/01/84)
a259 1711 29 Jun 84
AM-Thicke Dropped,390
'Thicke of the Night' Canceled
By JERRY BUCK
AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - ''Thicke of the Night,'' the late-night show
starring Canadian talk show host Alan Thicke, has been canceled
because of low ratings, an official said Friday.
The announcement came one day after Thicke's wife, actress-singer
Gloria Loring, filed suit in Superior Court to dissolve their 13-year
marriage.
MGM-UA President Larry Gershman announced the show's demise in a
statement that observed, ''The station support simply was not there.
''This was a joint decision by Bob Bennett, president of Metromedia,
Fred Silverman, executive producer of the series, and myself,'' he
said.
''I am both disappointed and relieved,'' said Thicke by telephone
from Ontario, Canada. ''I'm disappointed to the extent that a year ago
we had all hoped for better things, and I'm relieved that once we
were well into the show it was apparent that 90 minutes in late-night
syndication was not going to work.''
Thicke, who had been touted as the answer to Johnny Carson, quipped,
''They said it couldn't be done and we proved it.''
The syndicated show, in trouble from the outset last September,
never lived up to its glittery billing. At one point, even Thicke
publicly expressed dissatisfaction with its format.
The last appearance of the talk-variety show will be Aug. 31, said
Rhys Thomas, assistant to the co-executive producer, Erni Di Massa.
The show went out of production on May 4 and has been in reruns since
the end of May.
Metromedia reportedly is considering replacing Thicke with a
late-night talk show starring Jerry Lewis. The Lewis show was given a
weeklong tryout recently.
The syndicated ''Thicke of the Night,'' which reached a peak of 128
stations, was panned by many of the critics and its ratings were
never high enough to make it competitive to NBC's ''Tonight Show
Starring Johnny Carson'' or to generate station enthusiasm.
Thicke's divorce from Miss Loring, who stars on the NBC daytime
serial ''Days of Our Lives,'' was announced on June 20. Thursday's
filing made it official.
Susan Patricola, a spokeswoman for Miss Loring, cited
''irreconcilable differences.'' The couple has two sons.
Thicke said he would continue developing his acting career. He said
he had offers for guest star roles, a starring role in a TV movie,
and offers to develop prime-time dramatic and comedy shows.
ap-ny-06-29 2010EDT