Joanna Kerns no Maggie Seaver?
Joanna Kerns, who grew up in Lafayette and is best known as all-American mom on “Growing Pains’’ remembers a few growing pains of her own.
One day, she brought her young daughter Ashley to the set of “Growing Pains,’’ and a television reporter came over to talk to her.
“All of a sudden, I hear her telling the reporter `she’s mean. She’s horrible and she spanks me. I tell you, she’s no Maggie Seaver.’ ‘’ says Kerns, who was at a reception held for TV critics by the Directors Guild.
“Well, I didn’t want to be there,’’ explains her now-grown daughter, who came with Kerns to the reception. “That’s what kids do.’’
These days Kerns, who also lived in Santa Clara while her older sister and Olympic Gold Medalist Donna DeVarona was training for the 1964 Olympics, now spends most of her time directing series TV like “ER.’’