5 Things You Probably Never Knew About 'Growing Pains'

— -- Alan Thicke has a lot going on in this phase of his career, including a stint in "Scream Queens" and his show "Unusually Thicke." Yet, his latest venture, a partnership with StubHub, has allowed the veteran to capitalize on his love for sports.

Thicke and StubHub recently hosted an event to crown the greatest hometown fan, a contest he helped judge. Participants sent in videos on why they should be the top fan in their area to win various prizes and gifts.

But for all the projects Thicke has going on, he's always going to be canonized as Dr. Jason Seaver on "Growing Pains," the hit show he starred on from 1985 to 1992.

But, the 68-year-old Ontario native said the fans didn't see it all during the show's 7-year run.

Here are 5 things you may not have known about "Growing Pains."

1 - Family Ties

Thicke wasn't afraid to use his sons Robin and Brennan as extras in the show.

"If you watch real closely in some episodes, you'll see my son Robin at about the age of 11 and 12 participating as an extra in a classroom scene or at a party that Mike Seaver was throwing. My son Brennan was also in some episodes. He was the voice of the "Dennis the Menace" cartoon in the 80's."

Thick added, "it was a fun place for my kids to show up after school and hang out with the cast."

2 - The Leo You Don't Know

Future stars like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio were on the show well before their Oscar nods. Thicke said he remembers DiCaprio very differently from the serious actor he is today.

Thick said, "they were young and upcoming at the time. Leo was particularly amusing and funny in ways that public hasn't seen yet. He hasn't been challenged to do a highly comedic role. He's a funny guy so you still might see that someday."

3 - They Already Had a Reunion ... Of Sorts

"I have a series on the air, 'Unusually Thicke,' and our third season starts in January," Thick said.

He continued, "We did an entire episode with the cast in which we had a funny payoff. The plot was I was trying to sell a 'Growing Pains' movie and was gonna recast it, so I go to John Stamos. I ask him if he wants to be the new Mike Seaver and he says, 'Sure.'"

But Stamos wants to modernize the series and make the Seavers vampires.

"So, they do drag us out and put us together for cast reunions once in a while," he said.

4 - The Ritual

Before most scenes, Thick said the cast would chew gum and "as you make your way onto the scene, you would stick your gum on this ever-growing wad. It ended up weighing about 11 pounds."

Thicke said he took some scripts as souvenirs from the show, but that everyone was vying for the wad of gum. He doesn't know who has it now.

5 - They Barely Ever Fought

Thicke said the cast "secretly had high hopes" but that they didn't really know it was going to be the hit it was. "We just got lucky."

As for chemistry onset.

"We didn't have a lot of arguments or fights, everybody got along, as corny as it sounds, we were genuinely a family," he said. "No setting dressing rooms on fire or anything like that!"