Leonardo DiCaprio, from "Growing Pains" to world-known "Superstar"

     It's October 14th, 1991; I'm at the Warner Bros. Studios Ranch in Burbank, Ca. Today is my Birthday as well, and it has started off great because my best friend, Shavar Ross, has invited me to hang out with him on the set of Growing Pains, in which he will be shooting his first episode playing the recurring  character, "Kenny," "Ben Seaver's" best friend, played by Jeremy Miller. I often watched this show; it was one of the biggest shows of the 80's and it featured the biggest heartthrob on television at the time, Kirk Cameron. This guy was on the cover of every magazine and on every young girl's bedroom wall in America. As we entered the set, I instantly became starstruck. I was standing at the craft services table and was suddenly joined by Joanna Kerns and Alan Thicke, who played the "Seavers" on the show. I nervously said hello; I tried my best to play it cool. Just then Cameron, who played the character "Mike Seaver," walked over to the table and grabbed a hand-full of grapes. In my mind I was like, "That's Kirk Cameron!" He politely introduced himself and walked back onto set. I was saying to myself, "I can get use to this." I grabbed a Coke and some fruit, and followed my pal, Shavar, to the Bleacher area. I noticed a young, pretty lady sitting down. She was brunette with gorgeous eyes, so I introduced myelf. She said that her name was Danielle Harris. As we began to talk, I learned that she starred in the thrillers, Holloween 4 and 5. She was guest-starring on the show this week and was going over her lines during a recess from rehearsal.
     I now hear the sounds of a basketball bouncing, which catches my attention immediately; I use to play basketball everyday. At that time, basketball was my passion. I noticed a young, skinny and flamboyant, brown-haired kid dribbling the basketball on the set. He had a flannel sweater tied around his waist and was shooting baskets into the hoop attached to the set's garage. The ball rolled over to me and I passed it back to the kid. He asked me did I play, and I replied, "Yes." His voice was high-pitched, as though puberty was yet to come. He asked me did I want to play one-on-one; I said, "Sure." I introduced myself and he shook my hand, and said that his name was Leonardo DiCaprio; he told me to call him "Leo." I had never seen any of his work and I had no idea who he was, but Shavar had told me that his character was added recently to the show. We began playing and I had pretty much dominated him, but Leo was not a bad player. I was just much taller than him then, plus the hoop was non-regulation. We played a lot during breaks; as time went by, we became pals. I started seeing him in all the teen magazines, and suddenly, he had a big buzz; he was now the new teen heartthrob sensation.      
     Leo was a natural actor; I remember watching him during rehearsals, and he read his lines effortlessly. I told him that he was too talented to be on a TV show; you can just tell that he was special. Fans would line-up along the side of the gate at the Warner Bros. Ranch and would try their best to catch a glimpse of him walking around on the lot.  He was too shy then to go over to the gate where the fans stood, so I would sometimes talk with the fans; I would share with them what he was doing, and how cool he was to know. His fans were very loyal and loved him, and I was overwhelmed; he was just "Leo" to me, my basketball partner on the set. We would talk a lot. At the time he was 16, driving a green Jaguar to work while attending John Marshal H.S. in Los Angeles. Me and Leo really hit it off; we became close. When Shavar would be scheduled to work I would come with him, and Leo would be delighted to see me so that we could go at it, shooting hoops. Jeremy Miller, who played the character, "Mike Seaver," would sometimes join us for a game of "H-O-R-S-E;" he had an amazing shot he would make while lying on the floor. Miller, however, was a vivid tennis player, and could often be seen outdoors hitting balls up against the exterior of the soundstage.
     I remember being on the set when Magic Johnson announced his retirement; it was November 7, 1991 on a Thursday afternoon. I remember I was playing basketball with Leo when suddenly, Kirk Cameron came storming onto the set saying to everyone that Magic Johnson was going to retire due to contracting HIV. Everyone thought Cameron was joking, so the engineers hooked up a live-feed of Magic, next to his wife, Cookie, preparing to speak. I still remember the opening statement; "First of all let me say good after -- good late afternoon. Because of the -- the HIV virus that I have attained, I will have to retire from the Lakers -- today." Everyone on the set glared in disbelief; this couldn't be real. Leo was devastated, and so was I. Everyone on that set was dazed and stunned. Magic was my childhood idol; I wanted to be just like him and now he was not going to be playing anymore, not to mention, he might die as well. At that time, HIV/AIDS meant a death-sentence; we have obviously come a long way from times when people were not educated on that topic.
     I went one last time to the Growing Pains set after that dreadful day. When I got there, I immediately went to look for Leo. I didn't see his green Jag parked outside of the soundstage, so I asked one of the production assistants if he was around. They said no, and that he would be gone for about 6 weeks; he was filming a movie titled, This Boy's Life, with the great Robert DeNiro. I was happy to hear that he was working on a feature film, but I knew I would miss hanging with him and shooting hoops. That was the last time Shavar worked on Growing Pains; the show ended after seven, great seasons. Leo went on to star in one of the biggest grossing films of all time, Titanic; he is now a world-known superstar. But for a short period of time, I knew Leo. The flamboyant, thin, brown-haired kid with the flannel sweater tied around his waist, who loved to shoot hoops.

- Marcus Nash (5/24/11)

M. Nash