As long as they got each other, they have the world spinning right in their hands. The classic sitcom Growing Pains debuted 35 years ago, and only ET had the Seaver family back together again for an exclusive virtual reunion.
Joanna Kerns (Maggie), Kirk Cameron (Mike), Tracey Gold (Carol) and Jeremy Miller (Ben) spoke with ET's Nischelle Turner, reminiscing about their days on set, and how much they miss Alan Thicke. Thicke, who portrayed the Seaver family's patriarch Dr. Jason Seaver, died in December 2016.
"We're just missing Alan. He always had us laughing, had me laughing," Kerns expressed, adding, "He was one of the most charming men I'd ever met. I think I was a little old for him…But we became really good friends. I saw him a week before he passed."
"It's been years now and I still reach for the phone occasionally, just thinking, 'I haven't talked to Alan in a while and want to say hi,'" Miller also noted. "He was a huge part of our lives."
The first episode of the beloved show premiered Sept. 24, 1985. It went on to run for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. Leonardo DiCaprio also had a major role in the final season as Luke Brower. ET was on the sitcom's set 22 times, and it was clear that this cast was just as much family off screen as they were on.
"It's unbelievable, unimaginable," Gold said of 35 years passing since the premiere. "And yet it feels like yesterday in so many ways."
Cameron, on his end, shared that it "always felt like I was coming to my second family when we were on the set."
The now 49-year-old actor also joked about how Thicke would give him pointers on how to talk to girls on set. When asked if the late actor gave him advice on how to talk to Chelsea Noble, his wife of 29 years whom he met on the Growing Pains set, Cameron quipped, "Well, I knew that I had to talk to Chelsea before he talked to Chelsea (laughs). And I'm really glad that I did."
"It worked out really well for me personally, and here we are 29 years later with six kids," he added.
The actors also touched on working with DiCaprio and how talented he was as a young kid.
"I just thought he was so sweet and so cute," Gold reminisced, adding that DiCaprio "was just so happy to be on set with us."
Cameron, who was known as a young heartthrob during his Growing Pains days, also added that they all "love him" and was glad to "pass the Tiger Beat crown to Leonardo, because it was his time."
The foursome also shared their favorite episodes, and brought up Gold's first onscreen kiss, which happened to be with Brad Pitt. See this and more in the video above.
For a Growing Pains flashback from the show's set, watch below.
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