Jeremy Miller Says His ‘Growing Pains’ Family Helped Him Avoid Homelessness

Alan Thicke’s love for his Growing Pains family was more than just for show, according to Jeremy Miller. The former child star, who played Ben Seaver on the beloved ‘80s sitcom, recently revealed that his late TV dad embodied his fatherly role decades after the cameras stopped rolling, and helped him start over after he lost his catering company in the 2008 financial crisis. 

“I was really struggling. I mean, really struggling, on the brink of homelessness,” Miller explained during a recent podcast appearance. “Things got really bad.” 

At risk of losing everything, Miller reached out to a few of his former co-stars for help. Thicke and his on-screen big brother, Kirk Cameron, “were the only two who stepped up” during his time of need. 

“Alan set up interviews with all of his restaurateur friends in Santa Barbara and a few other places,” Miller remembered. “(He) got me connected to different spots where I could utilize my chef skills and earn some money to help take care of my family.”

Thicke didn’t give it a second thought either. “‘Hey, Al, I’m really struggling. Do you know anybody who might…?’ And that’s all I had to say,” Miller explained. 

Sadly, Thicke passed away a few years later in 2016. “He was always so full of life. That’s why losing him was such a shock,” Miller said of his co-star’s death. “All of us, we really thought he was going to be the next Dick Clark. You know, 102 and still going.”

Thicke didn’t make it to centenarian status, but he proved at least part of the show’s theme song right: “As long as we keep on givin’, we can take anything that comes our way.”