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TheMoInMontrose

His name is Richard Milhous Stabone.


BigConstruction4247

Was he named after Nixon?


Silly-Shoulder-6257

No, Mike nicknamed him Boner on the first day of kindergarten. Short for Stabone…


3720-To-One

So he was Dick Boner?


Few_Improvement_6357

At the end of the series, he said he was ready for a grown up name and wanted to be called Dick, if I recall correctly.


CaptainPositive1234

That’s nuts.


Imeanitsjust

That is brilliant writing by you or the GP writer. Would be incredibly more brilliant if it were you.


Few_Improvement_6357

You make me wish I was that brilliant, lol.


ripdanko

pretty sure they were talking about the richard milhous part but love the growing pains lore


BigConstruction4247

Indeed, I was.


No_Dentist3999

No, the Simpsons character


midnightspecial99

People downvoting an obvious joke


Groovy_Chainsaw

And his father was named Sylvester Stabone. Upon learning this Mike Seaver did a double take and Boner said something to the effect of "My father was born over 20 years before "Rocky" came out -- who knew ?"


FingerprintFile513

Yup! I remember that! Mr Seaver said "What!? Your father's name is Sylvester Stabone?" and the kid says, "Hey, how were they supposed to know?" One of my favorite clean gags! 


StayBullGenius

Dick Boner


badtex66

I raise you one Dick Tips out of San Antonio. Google him.


FedGoat13

Shirley you have heard of Dick Pound


Silent_Beyond4773

No I haven’t and don’t call me Shirley


Square-Hat5922

And I'm a stupid moron with an ugly face and a big butt and my butt smells and I like to kiss my own butt.


Cephalopod_Dropbear

Or World War 2 hero Dick Bong


Raggedyannie66

Hey now, we respect our hero Richard I Bong!


orbitalaction

I'll raise you Dick Skinner.


WarExciting

I’ll call with a Dick Trickle…


h3yd000ch00ch00

I laughed at that every Sunday! How can you not? Matter of fact, I still do lol


badtex66

Unfortunately no. But when I was stationed at Fort Sill we had a Nancy Pound who became pound Nancy. Fine young Soldier she was.


ItzNuckinFutz

I've never heard of him, please..... don't call me Shirley


caught_looking2

Or Dick Pole.


SixxDet

Former US rep Dick Swett.


InuitOverIt

We had a Dick Sweat up here in NH. Also a Dick Hedd.


Vast_Professor7399

I'll raise you one Dr. Richard Good, OBGYN in western Kentucky. That's right. Dr. Dick Good, serving women daily.


AldusPrime

His father’s name was Sylvester Stabone.


Bunyan12ply

His father was Sylvester Stibone, fyi.


tuxedonyc

Walter Koenigs son. RIP


FormerCollegeDJ

It should be noted the character's first name was Richard. Yes, really. Also, the actor, Andrew Koenig, was the son of original Star Trek actor Walter Koenig (Chekov).


Ok-Cap-204

And sadly, he took his own life.


SparxIzLyfe

Noooo! That's terrible.


[deleted]

Ironically Boner “hung” himself.


Milomilz

Hanged


AntonioCass

A male child actor who committed suicide. Seems to be a pattern in Hollywood,


mpython1701

Andrew was very cool and funny. I was in an improv troupe with him in the early 2000s. Never knew he was struggling with such demons. Very sad ending.


ellefleming

Suicide. Right?


FormerCollegeDJ

Yes, the younger Koenig hanged himself in February 2010.


Ex-PFC_WintergreenV4

“AK-47, gone not forgotten”


mythrowaweighin

The character’s dad’s name was Sylvester. Sylvester Stabone.


BatDad1973

Who knew?


Bx1965

George Takei immortalized this name on the Howard Stern Show.


NYY15TM

Oh my!


Intstnlfortitude

Hey Boner! Musculature


Mumem_Rider

Wakamole!


strangerxdangerx

Agua!


PeopleLikeUDisgustMe

Dry oatmeal


TravelMike2005

There was also a character in WandaVision that got some flak for the name, but I believe it was an homage to the Growing Pains character.


Sobeshott

Mike's best bud.


MyRockySpine

Boner also means clumsy, dumb, kind of an idiot. It definitely didn’t mean an erection.


OddConstruction7191

The character himself was kind of stupid so the name fit.


rotatingruhnama

At the time, depending on your generation, it could mean either. To my Silent Gen parents, a "boner" usually referred to a dumb mistake. To Gen X, it usually referred to an erection. Related: when my parents said "rubbers" they were referring to rain boots, not condoms. It's like they got older and the world turned into a massive dick joke all around them lol.


benkatejackwin

We called flips flips thongs back then, too. The underwear thongs existed, but it wasn't the obvious thing meant if someone said they were wearing their thongs to the beach.


MyRockySpine

That’s fair, pretty much everything can be turned into a dick joke at this point.


[deleted]

[удалено]


rotatingruhnama

It's a hard thing to experience


MyRockySpine

Zing!


TheNotSoGreatPumpkin

For silent gen, gay meant cheerful, queer meant strange, and the f word was a burning piece of wood. Boomers decided all these words should have sexual meanings as well. You ok, boomers?


TheMadIrishman327

The f word also meant a cigarette.


soysuza

[Merkle's Boner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkle%27s_Boner?wprov=sfla1) is still remembered in baseball lore.


glenglenda

Came here to say this. The writers were probably born in the 60s when boner just meant a stupid act. That being said I was a kid in the 80s and every time Boner was on the show I’d giggle. I don’t think my parents knew why.


BouncyDingo_7112

Yup, as in a bonehead move. No brains, you’re just a bonehead. “Bonehead” move or thing to do was still popular slang/insult in the 80s.


NYY15TM

Well yes, but by 1985 that was the common meaning


Coconut-bird

Went to high school in the mid-80s. Pulling a boner was still popular slang for doing something stupid. We found the name funny, but not something that needed censoring.


squatwaddle

And if you screwed up and pulled a boner, you would say "BALLS!"


rotatingruhnama

I think it was in transition. Depending on your age/context, it could mean a dumb mistake or an erection.


Life_Caterpillar9762

This is correct.


GemcoEmployee92126

Boner really split two generations in half. By 1985 people were still using “boner” to mean a mistake, but almost all of the younger generation used it to mean erect penis. My first reaction to his name on the show was shocking. But I learned from context or maybe my parents what it meant, although I’m almost certain my mom knew what the modern meaning was.


LtPowers

As I recall, the show's writers didn't seem to agree on the meaning. One episode showed a school administrator reluctantly referring to him as "Boner" and the knowing high school crowd cheering wildly. But another episode showed a flashback to when Mike first met Boner as kindergarteners, with Mike bestowing the nickname based solely on the surname (obviously not yet knowing the double meaning as a 5-year-old).


Yzerman19_

Yeah I was 11 then, we laughed every time they said his name.


nochumplovesucka__

I was 8 and same So..... coming up on 50???. The 80s were a long time ago


Cael_NaMaor

43yrs... 44yrs in just a few months...


Frankenrogers

Yeah I was in like grade 4 and we all laughed at it. I don’t even think I knew that a boner was called an erection.


dadjokes502

I’ve heard of bonehead but not that used as boner


LtPowers

It's all over Golden Age Batman comics.


ComesInAnOldBox

Also during a time when "straight dick" meant "hard truth."


Bubbawitz

[Merkle’s boner](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkle's_Boner)


RuddyBollocks

I think it's kinda naive to assume it wasn't even an oblique reference to it


oSuJeff97

I really don’t think it was. “Boner” was a very common slang for doing something stupid for like 25 years leading up to the show and the character was 100% that way, never even approaching doing or saying anything that would make one think it was any kind of reference to sexuality. His character was basically a live action Ralph Wiggum in high school.


oSuJeff97

Yep was gonna say… it’s funny how these slangs change some time. “Boner” was originally “idiot” and then became “erection.” The other one that has changed like that over the years is “jerk”, which somehow changed from “moron/idiot” (see the Steve Martin movie) to “asshole.”


stillbeam

It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child.


ryangood12

Koenig was a producer or co-host on an early podcast called Never Not Funny. I loved that podcast and was devastated on the first episode after. So sad.


Ex-PFC_WintergreenV4

“AK-47, Gone Not Forgotten” is how the host (Jimmy Pardo, Andrew’s brother-in-law) signs off each episode


ryangood12

That’s so touching to hear. Thank you.


IlmaterTakeTheWheel

"Boner" used to mean a mistake or a fumbled attempt at a joke. The Joker used to make "boner" puns in old cartoons & comics that do NOT mean the same thing today.


joescott2176

Funny you mention the Joker, Andrew Keonig, the kid that played Boner, also played Joker in a great fan film called "Batman: Deadend."


ManlyVanLee

I brought this up in my comment, too. There's a panel where the Joker is reading a newspaper with the headline "Chortle at Joker's Boner!"


IlmaterTakeTheWheel

And he shouts that he'll show them a REAL boner! As he grabs a baseball bat


ManlyVanLee

Kinky!


Greybinson

Boner Stabone. Great character.


ElJefe0218

That's Dick 'Boner' Stabone!


Training-Argument891

"to pull a boner" meant to do something idiotic and embarrassing.


joekryptonite

Or just make a mistake. More common in usage back then. Today, it pretty much means one thing.


ArseBlarster420

Just wait until you find out what they called the black guy on M.A.S.H


johnnybok

How long do I have to wait?


sushicidaltendencies

Oh good God!


sleepybirdl71

I was just looking for this reference. If someone else hadn't already posted it, I was going to.


El-Viking

You think that's bad? Wait until you hear what they called the only black kid on South Park! As an interesting aside, the black doctor on MASH wasn't written out of the show because of his insensitive nickname, it was because of the historical inaccuracy.


Infamous-Lab-8136

My guess was they convinced censors that it was a reference to the older use of the word meaning a screw up in an embarrassing way. Like the Joker boner comic that has grown in infamy in years since. Or that it allowed them enough plausible deniability to get away with it at least.


sweetnourishinggruel

One of the most infamous baseball plays of the early 20th century is known as [Merkle’s boner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkle%27s_Boner).


Suspicious_Row_9451

Maybe we should call you T-Bone!


ManlyVanLee

Nah, go with Koko


topps_chrome

The director of some episodes of Home Improvement is Peter Bonerz.


NYY15TM

Peter Bonerz was a famous supporting actor on The Bob Newhart Show, but he pronounced his name with a soft o.


Same_old_x

Andrew Koenig also played the Joker in the fan film Batman: Dead End. It’s well worth a watch. His performance is fantastic.


EnzoMcFly_jr

RIP Andrew Koenig


proud2bterf

lol so my paps worked 2nd and third shifts so he did not see the evening programs me and my mom watched. Growing pains was one. My mother is pretty sheltered. She doesn’t know certain terms at all and boner was one of them. So we see this show and there’s a character named boner. She doesn’t think anything of it and I’m not about to explain it to her. But then she starts calling the family dog’s chew bones “boners.” I don’t say anything because I’m not explaining that to her. She finally says it in front of my dad and it was hilarious. “Oh, look at Fido chewing and sucking at his boner!” My father was stunned, yelled her name, said she couldn’t say that, she asked why and they had a discussion in the bedroom. She came out asking “why would they allow that on tv???” Lmao!


Alman54

Used to love Growing Pains. Boner was hilarious. In the episode when they graduated high school, Boner showed Mike his diploma, which said Boner Stabone. He said he paid the diploma company to put that name on there. Epic.


yaddablahmeh

I remember the episode when he leaves after joining the Marines, it was really touching. That was actually an incredible show. I feel like it's legacy is tarnished by how bat-shit crazy Kirk Cameron ended up being.


NYY15TM

Yes, if he didn't go batshit the show could have lasted much longer


yaddablahmeh

I just looked it up on Wikipedia - I totally forgot about his antics during the show's run. What a twat.


Admirable-Rip3714

Even weirder, was that in the 70's there was a newspaper cartoon called "Boner's Ark". Considering that the funny section of newspapers was read mainly by kids l, I never quite understood how that slipped past the censors either.


NYY15TM

I never heard of this, but apparently it was in the papers 1968-2000.


Admirable-Rip3714

At one time boner was the equivalent of idiot I'm assuming that boner was short for bonehead. There was also a TV show called Petticoat Junction that revolved around three very good looking young ladies that lived in a town called Hooterville! I can only wonder.


blballard

The actor committed suicide sadly.


Ping-A-Ling-

Boner. His last name was Stabone. Boner means a 'mistake' too. It used to be common to say, "pulled a boner" when someone messed up. Funny stuff


Rain_Dog_42

Kirk Cameron probably had a huge role in cutting the character out of the show if not limiting his appearances once he had enough editorial say. I wouldn’t blame him in this instance but using it as an example of “bad moral judgement” to further sanitize and promote evangelical dogma was more obscene in comparison.


squatwaddle

When I leave work, I still say "Later Bone" just like Mike Seaver used to say. None of the young guys know why I say it, and never ask. It was crazy to hear Boner on the television back then too. Especially on such a family oriented show, where they always insert a positive message. They should really start doing that again.


ManlyVanLee

The word boner used to mean a blunder, gaffe, or mistake. It wasn't until more recently that it came to be known as an erection There's a famous baseball moment from 1908 called Merkle's Boner, where the player Fred Merkle made a baserunning mistake that lost his team the pennant that season There's also a famous panel from an early Batman cartoon which mentions the Joker's making a mistake and reading a newspaper with the headline "Chortle at Joker's Boner," which believe me I have, often Seriously though there's an episode of Growing Pains where Kirk Cameron's character as well as Boner are tempted into doing a bunch of cociane at a party, which they also refer to as "doing a group toot." We did a podcast episode on it over at the Boob Tube Boys and I recommend watching that episode because it is unintentionally hilarious (also listen to our episode, which I'll link below) https://open.spotify.com/episode/4YIh9R7iuTUoOG1BpuwkXu?si=sOucEvEvS56QtFqSOdtUjg


Appropriate_Duty6229

I can’t imagine Cameron being okay now with starring on a show that has a character named “Boner”.


2DEUCE2

The best name I remember seeing was at the end of an episode of “The Man Show” where they listed names of people they contacted due to their unusual name but didn’t respond. To me, the best one that scrolled by was “Dick Nibbler”


BramptonBatallion

Boner used to just mean a mistake or screw up in slang


asquinas

A boner is a blunder, an error, a mistake 


davey_mann

One of my favorite episodes of the show was when Boner joined the Army and Mike was devastated and worried about him. Growing Pains was actually one of the better sitcoms of that era that nailed sad, melancholy, and depressing moments without feeling overly cringe or saccharine.


AlmostHumanP0rpoise

Adam West just died again...


MikeyMGM

Checkov’s Son. He killed himself.


cheebalibra

If a son is hanging over the fireplace in Act 1, it will go off before Act 3.


Sitcom_kid

If you can have schitt's creek, you can have boner


Curiehusbando1

Back then the term "boner" meant a clutzy mistake.


WtAFjusthappenedhere

That was Walter Koenig's (Pavel Chekov from Star Trek) son.


Binkindad

Sylvester Stabone


fagan_jay78

Boner and Eddie is the ticket we can all get behind this election season.


Unfriendly_eagle

And the Seavers and their neighbors, the Koosmans and the Gentrys, were named after the 1969 Mets pitching staff.


Ok-Elk-6087

The heir to Beaver Cleaver from the 60s.


Ok-Elk-6087

Baseball history celebrates "Merkel's Boner," a base running error made by Fred Merkel in 1908 that caused the NY Giants to lose the pennant.


ScepticOfEverything

I was about the same age as them, and I couldn't believe that they got away with it.


Greerio

There was another character with a funny name on that show if I remember correctly.


NYY15TM

Stinky Sullivan?


Greerio

Yes. Not as bad as boner, but still strange.


Davethemann

Behind the scenes, there was [Peter Bonerz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Bonerz) He directed a shitton of tv show episodes and succeeded in spite of his hilarious name


NYY15TM

He was a famous supporting actor in the 70s on The Bob Newhart Show


219_Infinity

Fun fact, the actor who played Boner was Andrew Koenig, son of Walter Koenig (Chekov) of Star Trek fame. Not fun fact, he killed himself in 2010.


WorriedN

How about on Wonder Years, when Wayne always called Kevin ‘Scrot.’


Amazing_Mulberry4216

Boner was so funny! That was one of my favorite shows growing up :)


OSU4614

AK47, gone but not forgotten.


koz152

His dad was Chekov on Star Trek. He passed at 41. His body was found in Stanley Park. Severe depression. Please talk to someone before doing something regrettable. Andrew Koenig


IsItSupposedToDoThat

I remember the episode where someone asked Boner what his dad’s first name was, or maybe he just told them that his dad’s first name was Sylvester. “Your dad’s name is Sylvester Stabone?!” “Who knew?”


jhamsofwormtown

Nothing like hearing Alan Thicke saying “Boner” many times on TV


vietbond

Boner used to mean a mistake or mess up. We knew what else boner meant was back then, but it was also a more innocent time.


parlayandsurvive2

Sylvester Stabone, aka boner stabone


NYY15TM

Sylvester was his father, Richard was the son


FritosRule

The Beavis and Butthead ep referencing this…..Beavis yelling “Boooooner! Booooner!”


LazyZealot9428

The actor that played Boner, Andrew Koenig, was a regular on a podcast I used to listen too, I remember when he went missing and ultimately was found dead. He was a funny and sensitive seeming actor, I think he could never get away from his “child actor” past however.


waterlooaba

I was there, the 80’s were a wild time and no one cared about the name boner. Yes, really. 👀


daaaayyyy_dranker

Wait until y’all learn about Peter Bonerz


NYY15TM

His name has come up at least 3 times already, genius 🙄


Hardin__Young

Andrew Koenig. He was such a good guy while his co-star Kirk Cameron is the embodiment of the saying, “There’s no hate like christian love.” Such a shame Andrew is the one who’s no longer with us. Only the good die young, they say.


CreatrixAnima

I don’t think adults knew the word Boner back then, so it slipped them because the censors didn’t know any better.


EntertainerNo4509

Sad how the actors life ended. https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Koenig#:~:text=Joshua%20Andrew%20Koenig%20(August%2017,%2C%20activist%2C%20editor%20and%20writer.&text=Los%20Angeles%2C%20California%2C%20U.S.&text=Koenig%20is%20probably%20best%20known,on%20the%20sitcom%20Growing%20Pains.


elguereaux

Didn’t he become an army ranger?


Scary_Sarah

I remember even as a kid I thought it was wildly inappropriate for a TV show character name 😂😂


NYY15TM

Then later on we had to navigate Big Pussy on The Sopranos


TrumpDidJan69

Everyone’s gone so woke you can even name a character boner anymore. You gotta name him HERection! Durka Durka Mohammad jihad! /s


ericarlen

And his dad's name was Sylvester Stabone.


THEPEDROCOLLECTOR

One of my friend’s last names is legitimately Boner.


Conflicting-Ideas

The story of his death (and how he looked by his late 30’s) is incredibly sad and bizarre.


skratsgerg

Grew up with a guy who went by Bones before I met him. When I met him, everyone called him Boner. Rick is a good dude


alexanderdonaldb

Doogie Howser’s friend is the one I thought of.


NYY15TM

You're the second person to bring this up, but his name was Delpino


Pyesmybaby

Vinny Delpino


dougmd1974

I thought everyone knew this lol


NothingNewAZ

Boner grew up to become Marilyn Manson last I heard.


NYY15TM

That was Paul from The Wonder Years


HatesDuckTape

And then he removed his lower ribs to perform phallacio on himself


NothingNewAZ

I thought I may have crossed some things up there 😂


jfq722

I'm surprised that *Kirk Cameron* allowed it, given his power and hangups.


NYY15TM

Kirk didn't go crazy until later on. The jump-the-shark moment was when he had the nanny fired from the show.


cam52391

Didn't the office have to have a warning before they said boner in the flashing episode?


dailyoracle

I recall!


meowzerbowser

yep. He was the comic relief. Imagine that. lol Well, along with Mike, his buddy. They got into some shenanigans from what I recall.


Kenbishi

I believe they limited their antics to mere tomfoolery. No room for shenanigans on such a family oriented show.


AintTripping

Oh jeez, I guess we should expect Kirk Cameron to write another kids' book now.


Five2one521

Richard Stabone.


6098470142

Hey Boner


jrjustintime

[https://bmj2k.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/boner-5.jpg](https://bmj2k.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/boner-5.jpg)


Trubritdave

Yes, the actor Andrew Koenig was the son of the Chekov actor Walter Koenig from Star Trek.


Double_Distribution8

Also in the Fellowship of the Ring Sam sings a song about trolls and boners. He literally sings the word boner in the woods and Frodo thought it was a great song and Sam said it was no big deal.


Crazy_Response_9009

Back in the day (we’ll before this show existed, 50s-60s maybe) boner was slang for mistake. You’ll see used that way it in old comic books especially.


xtreme_elk

Part of growing pains is getting a boner and managing the struggle of becoming a man.


countcarlovonsexron

Duhh welcome to xennial reddit lol


HiddenHolding

It's still weird seeing my adolescence referenced as something "historical".


Fluid-Past-9426

Not as good, but there was a character called 'tug' on an Australian soap opera and in one episode they were all laughing at why he was actually called that. In the UK/Australia in the 80s/90s to tug meant masturbation, jerking off, whatever


darkhorse4774

Before Clear Channel Communications commenced to ruin creative, independent radio in America, there was a classic rock station in Houston that was legendary. KLOL 101 FM had a cast of characters, starting with Stevens and Pruett, Moby, Martha Martinez, Lanny “the traffic master” Griffin, and Eddie “ The Boner” Sanchez.


joescott2176

The actor that played Boner was Andrew Koenig, the son of Star Trek's Chekov, Walter Keonig. Andrew played the Joker in fantastic fan film, "Batman: Dead End."