Ashley Johnson recently recalled the story of almost being taken from the Growing Pains set. In the late 1980s, the beloved family sitcom was one of America’s favorites, watched by millions. But for Johnson, who joined the show as Chrissy Seaver, a single childhood moment turned into a story she carried for decades.
Growing Pains star Ashley Johnson recalls armed set abduction attempt
Ashley Johnson has revealed one of the most chilling moments of her childhood on set.
On her podcast Weird Kids, the “Blindspot” actress told cohost Taliesin Jaffe that she was nearly kidnapped during a live taping of Growing Pains. The two were sharing stories about working on sitcoms when the two-time BAFTA winner brought up the frightening incident.
Johnson recalled that it happened during her first year on the show, after only a few audience tapings. Back then, the cast had old camper-style trailers instead of the nicer ones used today. They’d leave the trailers before filming and walk past the arriving audience to get into the studio. She added that fans in the audience were within five feet of the entrance as actors came in.
“And this was gonna get a little dark, but, somebody had written in and said that, ‘I am coming to set and I am going to bring a gun and I am going to murder some of the cast,’” she noted.
“So, I’m walking with my mom and then I just remember some guy hops out of the line and he grabs me and grabs me up and starts booking it,” Johnson explained. “And all I remember is like, there was security that somehow got on him after some time.”
She also shared that the security tossed her around while trying to restrain the armed man. Later, staff asked if she was “okay,” and she replied that she thought she was going to get in “trouble.”
