‘Growing Pains’ star Alan Thicke’s cause of death was a ruptured aorta

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

8 years ago

In this Nov. 19, 2010, file photo, Alan and Tanya Thicke pose on the red carpet before Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Tanya Thicke says her husband was laid to rest Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, six days after the actor suffered a fatal heart attack. (Spencer Weiner/AP)

In this Sunday, April 26, 2015 file photo, Alan Thicke poses in the pressroom at the 42nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif. Alan Thicke’s widow, Tanya Thicke, said on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016, that the actor was buried the previous day. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

LOS ANGELES — Alan Thicke’s death certificate states the actor died of a ruptured aorta.

Thicke’s death certificate was released Wednesday, two days after the actor was buried in a Santa Barbara cemetery with several of his “Growing Pains” cast mates, including Leonardo DiCaprio, in attendance. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

The cause of death was determined by a doctor and no autopsy was performed on the Canadian actor, songwriter and talk show host.

Thicke died at a Burbank, California, hospital on Dec. 13 at age 69.

His death certificate released Wednesday states Thicke’s aorta artery ruptured three hours after first developing a tear.

His wife, Tanya Thicke, wrote in a statement released Tuesday that their family was dealing with “gut wrenching sadness and unbelievable grief.”

An aortic tear also killed actor John Ritter in 2003.