Joanna Kerns’s Emotional Tribute to Alan Thicke

Actress Joanna Kerns played Alan Thicke’s wife for seven seasons on the hit show Growing Pains, and in an emotional statement for TooFab, she paid tribute to her former TV husband writing, “I loved Al. I called him Al because it really bugged him. He thought it sounded like an old man’s name. He hated it, but the cast loved it and unfortunately for him, it stuck.”

She added, “Alan loved everything youthful: women, sports, music, and above all, his beautiful and talented sons, Brennan, Robin, and Carter. There was a sweetness and kindness to his humor. No one could make fun of Alan better than Alan. As an actor, that is a gift, and I truly believe he was underrated.”

Thicke died on Dec. 13 at the age of 69. He was playing hockey with his 19-year-old son, Carter, when he suffered a fatal heart attack. Kerns wrote, “I am devastated by Alan’s passing and will be for some time.”

Reflecting on her experience playing Maggie Seaver on the show, Kerns wrote, “I used to joke, before I met my real husband, Marc, that Alan was my favorite daytime husband. At work we laughed all day, every day, at things Alan would come up with, usually at my expense. It was fun. Alan was fun, and we all loved teasing each other. Alan kept me calm, and when I’d start to get upset about something silly, he would set things straight, give me a big hug and very gently say, ‘Maggie… don’t be an a**hole.'”

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