The 69 year old Canadian reportedly suffered a heart attack playing hockey with his 19 year old son. Likely best known for playing the dad on 'Growing Pains'.
Thought this was pretty cool regarding the relationship he had with Gretzky:
McNall:I remember calling when the deal was finally done. It was early in the morning and I had to get Wayne to the airport with me to fly on to Edmonton, and it was [his son] Robin who answered the phone. I said, “Robin, I need Wayne,” and he said, “What’s going on, what’s going on?” And I said, “The deal is done, we got him.”
Thicke:Yeah, that’s all true. I was in Norway with my son Brennan, and Wayne and Janet were taking care of Robin. Robin answered and said, “I’m sorry, Wayne is asleep.” And McNall said, “Well, you better wake his ass up.”
McNall:A lot of celebrities showed up after we got Wayne, but Alan was a fan and a friend and everything else way before the Gretzky trade ever took place. When Alan was in town, I always had him to our pregame dinners, and he would bring his sons to the locker room. He had carte blanche. He was sort of a mini celebrity captain. He and John Candy split up duties. All the players knew him — it wasn’t just Wayne. They loved him.