Jeremy Miller thanked his TV family, Kirk Cameron and the late Alan Thicke, for helping him out of a difficult period in his life.
Miller, 48, grew up in front of the camera as one of the stars of the popular 1980s family sitcom, “Growing Pains.” He admitted that Thicke, who played his TV dad Dr. Jason Seaver, and Cameron, who played his older brother Mike, came to his rescue when he was on “the brink of homelessness.”
“He was just one of the most amazing men,” Miller said of Thicke in a Youngstown Studio interview. The actor died in 2016 at the age of 69.
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Miller recalled the impact of the economic crash in 2008 and said he was “really struggling” when his catering company went under.
“I mean, really struggling on the brink of homelessness,” Miller said before revealing that not only did Thicke offer assistance, but co-star Cameron was also ready to help.
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“Things got really bad, and Alan and Kirk were the only two who stepped up to help me. 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 added, “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. 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.”
“Growing Pains,” which also starred Tracey Gold, Joanna Kerns and Ashley Johnson, ran for seven seasons and ended in 1992.
Miller remembered that Thicke was “always so full of life,” which is why his sudden death was “such a shock.”
“I mean, all of us, we really thought he was going to be the next Dick Clark, you know? 102 and still going,” Miller said. “Because he was so full of life and so full of energy.”
He added, “He was just such a kind, generous, and amazing man. And him and I would talk probably once a month, once every two months. 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.”
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The television star had his fair share of challenges through the years and previously detailed his history with alcoholism in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
Miller admitted at the time that while he had been “totally sober for over seven years now,” he would not forget being a “mean drunk” in the past who was “blacking out every single day” after traumatic alcohol binges when he “broke lamps and punched holes in walls” while inebriated.
“I’m in recovery since 2011, had a couple little stumbles,” he said before detailing just a few of the struggles he has had to overcome with his addiction.
“Some financial difficulties arose, I had a pretty big fight with my fiancée and I bolted the house and … I stopped at the liquor store. It’s the only DUI I ever got, and believe me, I deserved many more, and I don’t say that lightly.”
“It’s probably the thing I’m most ashamed of in my drinking career, is how many times I put other peoples’ lives at risk by getting behind the wheel. I did it way more than I like to admit.”
He added, “But I got in the car that day. I pounded a half pint of vodka, probably would have drank a lot more, and I got pulled over for a DUI, and from that point on, I got back into working on my recovery.”
