Jeremy Miller opened up about the way his former Growing Pains co-star, Alan Thicke, helped him in the years leading up to his death.
The actor, who played son Ben Seaver on the popular ABC sitcom from 1985 to 1992, told the Youngstown Studio podcast in August 2025 that Thicke, who played his dad, Jason Seaver, on the series, saved him from becoming homeless in real life.
Miller had stepped back from acting to start a career in the hospitality business as a chef and caterer. On the podcast, he revealed that in 2008, his catering company “went under” and he was “struggling.” “I mean, really struggling on the brink of homelessness,” he said, before explaining how Thicke stepped in to help him.
“Alan set up interviews with all of his restaurateur friends in Santa Barbara and a few other places and got me connected to different places where I could utilize my chef skills and earn some money to help take care of my family,” Miller recalled.
“All it took was a phone call to say, ‘Hey, Al, I’m really struggling. Do you know anybody who might —’ and that’s all I had to say,” Miller said. “He was on the phone for the next two days, making connections and doing everything he could to try and help me. That was just the kind of guy he was.”
Thicke died suddenly in 2016 at age 69.
In the podcast interview, Miller, now 48, reflected on how Thicke was like a real-life father to him. “He was just such a kind, generous, and amazing man. And him and I would talk probably once a month, once every two months,” the former child star said. “He would call just to check up on me, make sure everything’s going good. But he really did fill that father role. He was my other dad.”
Jeremy Miller Said Alan Thicke Was Always There for Him
On Dec 13, 2016, Thicke died after collapsing while playing hockey with his son, Carter. The actor’s cause of death was revealed to be from a “ruptured aorta” and a “standard type A aortic dissection,” according to People magazine.
Speaking with Flashback Tonight in 2016, Miller admitted he “couldn’t believe” the death reports at first and assumed it was a hoax. When he found out Thicke had really died, he said he “completely broke down.”
“You know he’s, it was my other dad,” Miller explained. “We spent a long time together, and the truth is Alan was such a loving, caring, generous person that he held that role in my life long after the show.”
“All I had to do was pick up the phone, and I’m struggling, I mean he was on it in a heartbeat,” Miller added. “That was the kind of guy he was.”
Miller admitted that years after Thicke’s death, he still felt the void. “Something good happens, I get a role, I get something, and I’ve had it happen three or four times now since he passed,” Miller said. “I reach for the phone to call him to tell him, and I can’t.”
Miller also previously expressed hopes for a Growing Pains revival to honor Thicke’s memory. “He was our patriarch,” the actor told Closer Weekly in 2019. “He was our dad.”
