Ready to feel old? It’s been 25 years since “The Wonder Years,” starring a young Fred Savage, went off the air. (The finale aired on May 12, 1993.) TheWrap takes a look back on the beloved coming-of-age series set in the 1960s and ’70s to dig up some facts you might not have known.
Fred Savage is one of the youngest actors to be nominated for an Emmy Award, when he was 13 years old in 1989 for his role as Kevin Arnold. Keshia Knight Pulliam is the youngest to be nominated at 6 years old for her role on “The Cosby Show” as Rudy Huxtable, and Savage is tied with “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown, who was nominated at 13 in 2016.
Executive producer Bob Brush said that although “The Wonder Years” team was the first to show The Beatles’ Ed Sullivan appearance on TV, the episode didn’t turn out quite as expected. “We didn’t really use the Beatles footage very well, and that episode was kind of mediocre when it came out. I had a call one day that Jon Feltheimer [the head of New World Entertainment] was on his way down to the studio, and he walked into my office and said, “I want my money back,” he told The Rolling Stone in 2014.
The first kiss between Kevin (Savage) and Winnie (Danica McKellar) was also the young actors’ real-life first kiss. McKellar told The Rolling Stone that she and Savage had a mutual crush, and “the anticipation of that kiss nearly killed us both.”
Brush has also said that even though everyone was sad to see the show end, he “knew it was time.”
“From my point of view, I think we had a year more than we actually deserved,” he said. “‘The Wonder Years’ was really about a specific time in life when you’re still young enough to believe in things like magic and the truth and all of those things. One of the jokes was that Fred’s voice was getting lower than Danny Stern’s voice. So from my point of view, the story was well told, and it was time to put a button in it.”
McKellar has said that the writers would eavesdrop on her and Savage to get ideas for dialogue between Winnie and Kevin.
“Kevin and Winnie’s relationship was, in some ways, defined by my friendship with Fred and some of the things that we would say,” she said. “The writers would actually take lines from things that we were saying to each other, off camera, and put it into the script.”
“There was this whole episode dedicated to, ‘Do you like him, or do you like him, like him?’ That was an expression that he and I used when we were talking about some guy that I had a crush on, in real life,” she added. “And then, it showed up in a script, a few weeks later. There were a lot of blurred lines. The other interesting thing was that I broke up with my first boyfriend, in real life, about a week before we shot the episode where I had to break up with Kevin on the show. It was fascinating how many parallels there were.”
Danica McKellar auditioned against her sister, Crystal, for the role of Winnie Cooper. Though Danica got the part, the producers liked Crystal so much they brought her one for a guest role as Becky Slater, who Kevin dated to make Winnie jealous.
The series was inspired by “A Christmas Story” — at least in part– from the coming-of-age theme to the use of voice-over, which was unheard of at the time. Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in “A Christmas Story,” had a guest spot as one of Kevin’s roommates on the final episode.
Daniel Stern talked to his real-life son in the last episode. In the show’s closing moments, Daniel Stern, who served as the voice-over narrator of the older Kevin, is asked by his “son” if he wants to play catch. That kid was Stern’s real-life son Henry.
Kevin and Winnie’s breakup was caused by McKellar’s growth spurt. Kevin and Winnie’s relationship was the heart of the show, but McKellar’s growth spurt in between the third and fourth season caused the writers to break the two up, at least until Fred Savage could catch up in height.
Jason Hervey, who played older brother Wayne, said his character was inspired by his own real-life older brother. “My brother Scott was the real Wayne Arnold. There were so many things that I borrowed from our real life experiences,” he told Uproxx in 2014. In fact, the storyline where Wayne is forced to take Kevin to the mall with him, was a real-life experience for Hervey.
Alley Mills stated in a 2018 interview that the show was cancelled as a result of a groundless sexual harassment suit filed against Fred Savage and Jason Hervey by a member of the crew. Both the show and Savage denied the accusations, and the lawsuit was dropped after an undisclosed out-of-court settlement was reached.
Read original story 11 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘The Wonder Years': From Kevin’s First Kiss to Real-World Inspiration (Photos) At TheWrap...
Fred Savage is one of the youngest actors to be nominated for an Emmy Award, when he was 13 years old in 1989 for his role as Kevin Arnold. Keshia Knight Pulliam is the youngest to be nominated at 6 years old for her role on “The Cosby Show” as Rudy Huxtable, and Savage is tied with “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown, who was nominated at 13 in 2016.
Executive producer Bob Brush said that although “The Wonder Years” team was the first to show The Beatles’ Ed Sullivan appearance on TV, the episode didn’t turn out quite as expected. “We didn’t really use the Beatles footage very well, and that episode was kind of mediocre when it came out. I had a call one day that Jon Feltheimer [the head of New World Entertainment] was on his way down to the studio, and he walked into my office and said, “I want my money back,” he told The Rolling Stone in 2014.
The first kiss between Kevin (Savage) and Winnie (Danica McKellar) was also the young actors’ real-life first kiss. McKellar told The Rolling Stone that she and Savage had a mutual crush, and “the anticipation of that kiss nearly killed us both.”
Brush has also said that even though everyone was sad to see the show end, he “knew it was time.”
“From my point of view, I think we had a year more than we actually deserved,” he said. “‘The Wonder Years’ was really about a specific time in life when you’re still young enough to believe in things like magic and the truth and all of those things. One of the jokes was that Fred’s voice was getting lower than Danny Stern’s voice. So from my point of view, the story was well told, and it was time to put a button in it.”
McKellar has said that the writers would eavesdrop on her and Savage to get ideas for dialogue between Winnie and Kevin.
“Kevin and Winnie’s relationship was, in some ways, defined by my friendship with Fred and some of the things that we would say,” she said. “The writers would actually take lines from things that we were saying to each other, off camera, and put it into the script.”
“There was this whole episode dedicated to, ‘Do you like him, or do you like him, like him?’ That was an expression that he and I used when we were talking about some guy that I had a crush on, in real life,” she added. “And then, it showed up in a script, a few weeks later. There were a lot of blurred lines. The other interesting thing was that I broke up with my first boyfriend, in real life, about a week before we shot the episode where I had to break up with Kevin on the show. It was fascinating how many parallels there were.”
Danica McKellar auditioned against her sister, Crystal, for the role of Winnie Cooper. Though Danica got the part, the producers liked Crystal so much they brought her one for a guest role as Becky Slater, who Kevin dated to make Winnie jealous.
The series was inspired by “A Christmas Story” — at least in part– from the coming-of-age theme to the use of voice-over, which was unheard of at the time. Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in “A Christmas Story,” had a guest spot as one of Kevin’s roommates on the final episode.
Daniel Stern talked to his real-life son in the last episode. In the show’s closing moments, Daniel Stern, who served as the voice-over narrator of the older Kevin, is asked by his “son” if he wants to play catch. That kid was Stern’s real-life son Henry.
Kevin and Winnie’s breakup was caused by McKellar’s growth spurt. Kevin and Winnie’s relationship was the heart of the show, but McKellar’s growth spurt in between the third and fourth season caused the writers to break the two up, at least until Fred Savage could catch up in height.
Jason Hervey, who played older brother Wayne, said his character was inspired by his own real-life older brother. “My brother Scott was the real Wayne Arnold. There were so many things that I borrowed from our real life experiences,” he told Uproxx in 2014. In fact, the storyline where Wayne is forced to take Kevin to the mall with him, was a real-life experience for Hervey.
Alley Mills stated in a 2018 interview that the show was cancelled as a result of a groundless sexual harassment suit filed against Fred Savage and Jason Hervey by a member of the crew. Both the show and Savage denied the accusations, and the lawsuit was dropped after an undisclosed out-of-court settlement was reached.
Read original story 11 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘The Wonder Years': From Kevin’s First Kiss to Real-World Inspiration (Photos) At TheWrap...
- 5/11/2018
- by Ashley Boucher and Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
For those of you who have ever wondered why the classic series The Wonder Years was canceled, actress Ally Mills, who played Norma Arnold in the series, said it due to a sexual harassment scandal involving 16-year-old Fred Savage, which she says was "completely ridiculous."
This is the first time anything like this has been talked about regarding the show. While talking to Yahoo, Mills explained:
“When we shot the series finale … nobody knew whether or not The Wonder Years was going to be renewed. And that’s because of a completely ridiculous sexual harassment suit that was going on against Fred Savage — who is, like, the least offensive, most wonderful, sweet human being that ever walked the face of the Earth.”
The sexual harassment lawsuit was filed in 1993 by a 31-year-old costume designer named Monique Long. It wasn't just against Fred Savage, though. It was also filed against 20-year-old Jason Hervey,...
This is the first time anything like this has been talked about regarding the show. While talking to Yahoo, Mills explained:
“When we shot the series finale … nobody knew whether or not The Wonder Years was going to be renewed. And that’s because of a completely ridiculous sexual harassment suit that was going on against Fred Savage — who is, like, the least offensive, most wonderful, sweet human being that ever walked the face of the Earth.”
The sexual harassment lawsuit was filed in 1993 by a 31-year-old costume designer named Monique Long. It wasn't just against Fred Savage, though. It was also filed against 20-year-old Jason Hervey,...
- 1/30/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
The Wonder Years star Jason Hervey spent two days behind bars over the weekend in Tennessee, People has confirmed. The jail time comes after he was arrested in January 2015 for an alleged DUI, alleged possession of a handgun while under the influence and alleged violation of implied consent (meaning he refused a blood test), Williamson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sharon Puckett tells People. Hervey told TMZ, which was the first to report the news, that he had a prescription for Ambien and took a pill before getting behind the wheel to run an errand, but he had not been drinking.
- 5/26/2016
- by Aaron Couch
- PEOPLE.com
The Wonder Years star Jason Hervey spent two days behind bars over the weekend in Tennessee, People has confirmed. The jail time comes after he was arrested in January 2015 for an alleged DUI, alleged possession of a handgun while under the influence and alleged violation of implied consent (meaning he refused a blood test), Williamson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sharon Puckett tells People. Hervey told TMZ, which was the first to report the news, that he had a prescription for Ambien and took a pill before getting behind the wheel to run an errand, but he had not been drinking.
- 5/26/2016
- by Aaron Couch
- PEOPLE.com
"The Wonder Years" star Jason Hervey just learned the hard way ... never take Ambien before you get behind the wheel. Tennessee law enforcement tells TMZ ... they got a call about a swerving pickup truck and were able to locate it. Cops say Hervey was behind the wheel and totally out of it ... slurring, red-eyed and confused. Cops say Hervey miserably failed a field sobriety test. They searched the pickup and found a loaded handgun, but the actor had a permit.
- 5/26/2016
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
For the next three weeks, Vulture is holding a High-School-tv Showdown to determine the greatest teen show of the past 30 years. Each day, a different writer will be charged with determining the winner of a round of the bracket, until New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz judges the finals on November 13. Today's battle: Ryan McGee judges The Wonder Years versus Veronica Mars. After you read, be sure to visit Vulture's Facebook page to vote on which show you think should advance. Apples and oranges. That’s what it looks like on the surface when comparing The Wonder Years and Veronica Mars. The former’s a nostalgia-laced late-’80s dramedy about American life in the Vietnam War era, while the latter’s a wide-eyed modern-day detective noir. How does one compare Wayne Arnold to Wallace Fennell? How does one draw the line between Paul Pfeiffer and Stosh Piznarski? The...
- 10/29/2015
- by Ryan McGee
- Vulture
Cue up the internal monologue – it's time to head back down memory lane to The Wonder Years.
Fred Savage, who's promoting his new Fox fall show The Grinder as part of this year's TCA Summer Tour, took a moment yesterday to reminisce about his six seasons as Kevin Arnold on the classic coming-of-age series. The venue: Savage's Twitter. The reunion fervor? As ever, at a fever pitch.
While Savage, 39, did open the floor to anyone who wanted to ask questions about Wizard, Little Monsters and The Princess Bride questions also," the real focus of the evening was answering '80s...
Fred Savage, who's promoting his new Fox fall show The Grinder as part of this year's TCA Summer Tour, took a moment yesterday to reminisce about his six seasons as Kevin Arnold on the classic coming-of-age series. The venue: Savage's Twitter. The reunion fervor? As ever, at a fever pitch.
While Savage, 39, did open the floor to anyone who wanted to ask questions about Wizard, Little Monsters and The Princess Bride questions also," the real focus of the evening was answering '80s...
- 8/5/2015
- by Julia Emmanuele, @julesemm
- People.com - TV Watch
Celebrity spotlight: We miss “Sons of Anarchy’s” Chibs, but fans can enjoy seeing him with stars of a new Wgn series “Outlaw Country” stars with Soa’s Tommy Flanagan at Easy Riders-Nashville! The image above was taken in Nashville, Tn at the Easy Riders event on Saturday, February 7 and includes Tommy Flanagan from Sons of Anarchy/Revenge, Jason Hervey (Ep of Outlaw Country) and formerly Wayne Arnold on The Wonder Years, plus three stars of the upcoming docudrama “Outlaw Country” John Monk, Josh Monk and Preacher.Wgn America’s gritty docudrama “Outlaw Country” gears up for its world premiere, Tuesday, February 24 (10:00 p.m. […]...
- 2/10/2015
- by April Neale
- Monsters and Critics
Now this is what we call a truly "Wonder"-ful reunion!
The cast of TV's "The Wonder Years" reunited this week to film some bonus features for the upcoming release of "The Wonder Years" DVD collection - and treated the fans to some photos from the amazing get-together.
Photos: Danica McKellar - Then & Now
The entire cast - Fred Savage (Kevin Arnold), Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper), Josh Saviano (Paul Pfieffer), Dan Lauria (dad Jack Arnold), Alley Mills (mom Norma Arnold), Jason Hervey (brother Wayne Arnold) and Olivia d'Abo (sister Karen Arnold) - are seen in the photos, ...
Copyright 2014 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The cast of TV's "The Wonder Years" reunited this week to film some bonus features for the upcoming release of "The Wonder Years" DVD collection - and treated the fans to some photos from the amazing get-together.
Photos: Danica McKellar - Then & Now
The entire cast - Fred Savage (Kevin Arnold), Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper), Josh Saviano (Paul Pfieffer), Dan Lauria (dad Jack Arnold), Alley Mills (mom Norma Arnold), Jason Hervey (brother Wayne Arnold) and Olivia d'Abo (sister Karen Arnold) - are seen in the photos, ...
Copyright 2014 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
- 5/29/2014
- by access.hollywood@nbcuni.com (AccessHollywood.com Editorial Staff)
- Access Hollywood
Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper together again! The cast of The Wonder Years reunited this week to record for the release of "The Wonder Years: The Complete Series" DVD collection—and the result was epic! Fred Savage (Kevin), Danica McKellar (Winnie), Jason Harvey (Wayne Arnold), Josh Saviano (Paul Pfeiffer), Olivia D'Abo (Karen Arnold), Dan Lauria (Jack Arnold), and Alley Mills (Norma Arnold) all joined together for sit-down interviews, a hilarious selfie and professional cast photos for the special event. In one nostalgic moment, the group sat down in [...]...
- 5/29/2014
- Us Weekly
Is there a "Wonder Years" reunion on the horizon? Not likely, but we can dream!John Saviano shared a snapshot on Twitter Wednesday, posing with former co-star Jason Hervey in the lobby of his law office. "Look who stopped by for a visit. The man, the myth, the legend @JasonHervey," he wrote along with the candid pic.Josh, who played Paul Pfeiffer on the show, hasn’t done much in Hollywood since the hit series wrapped in 1993, although there was a false rumor he grew up to be Marilyn Manson. He's currently an attorney in New York.So, what has Wayne Arnold been doing?Jason did voice work in "100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd" and "Justice League." He also produced "Scott Baio is 45 ... and Single" and "I Want to be a Hilton."We would love to see the entire "The Wonder Years" clan reunite!Who was your favorite character on the iconic show?...
- 2/20/2014
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
There's some real life motorcycle club drama flaring up on Twitter, though it's not exactly as heart-wrenching as the weekly goings-on of "Sons of Anarchy." "Sons" creator Kurt Sutter has taken aim at "The Devils Ride," an unscripted series on Discovery that follows San Diego, Calif. motorcycle clubs.
It all started Saturday (Feb. 10), when Sutter sent out a tweet to his followers. In it, he wondered if "The Devils Ride" had been canceled or not and questioned the legitimacy of the clubs that take part in the show. That didn't sit well with a member of the Laffing Devils, who are also on Twitter. From there, a profanity-laced exchange ensued.
"Is 'Devil's Ride' still on? my thespians are harder than these b****es. don't take my word, ask any Omc in the f***ing world," Sutter writes. One of the Devils, who goes by Mad Max for one reason or another,...
It all started Saturday (Feb. 10), when Sutter sent out a tweet to his followers. In it, he wondered if "The Devils Ride" had been canceled or not and questioned the legitimacy of the clubs that take part in the show. That didn't sit well with a member of the Laffing Devils, who are also on Twitter. From there, a profanity-laced exchange ensued.
"Is 'Devil's Ride' still on? my thespians are harder than these b****es. don't take my word, ask any Omc in the f***ing world," Sutter writes. One of the Devils, who goes by Mad Max for one reason or another,...
- 2/11/2014
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Nobody can question San Diego's climate. With 201 days above 70 degrees each year, America's Finest City (it's official nickname) hosts more than 32 million visitors who annually pump an estimated eight billion dollars into the regional economy. And the locals have it good, too: S.D. has recently been named America's second best city to work, its ninth best place to buy a house and, for the thirsty, the third best beer town in America. But it's not all sunshine and smiles in SoCal. Where there's wealth, there's an underbelly. And that's...
- 1/31/2014
- Rollingstone.com
Profero global CEO Wayne Arnold
Digital agency Profero is gearing up for expansion in Australia.
Sydney is the network’s Asia Pacific hub for creative, strategy and technology, and global CEO Wayne Arnold has said he wants the Australian business to build scale to serve the region.
Profero has traditionally grown organically, but recently acquired an Hispanic marketing agency in the Us, and since Akqa sold to Wpp in June Profero is the world’s largest independent digital agency network.
Arnold, who was in town last week, did not rule out launching an office in Melbourne or making an acquisition.
Profero’s Australian office has grown by 25% every year for five year, with clients including Western Union, Pizza Hut, Johnson & Johnson and News Limited. The agency now has 30 staff.
On Profero keeping its independence, Arnold said: “We talk to a lot of people, and it’s very flattering to have those sort of conversations.
Digital agency Profero is gearing up for expansion in Australia.
Sydney is the network’s Asia Pacific hub for creative, strategy and technology, and global CEO Wayne Arnold has said he wants the Australian business to build scale to serve the region.
Profero has traditionally grown organically, but recently acquired an Hispanic marketing agency in the Us, and since Akqa sold to Wpp in June Profero is the world’s largest independent digital agency network.
Arnold, who was in town last week, did not rule out launching an office in Melbourne or making an acquisition.
Profero’s Australian office has grown by 25% every year for five year, with clients including Western Union, Pizza Hut, Johnson & Johnson and News Limited. The agency now has 30 staff.
On Profero keeping its independence, Arnold said: “We talk to a lot of people, and it’s very flattering to have those sort of conversations.
- 7/23/2012
- by Robin Hicks
- Encore Magazine
God bless "The Daily Show." Only Jon Stewart can spin a segment on Orwellian government control into a maybe-not-so-sarcastic suggestion that we'd all be better off under the protection of Buffy Summers.
Discussing the many different kinds of pop culture older siblings who might best represent the American version of "Big Brother" on the Dec. 14 episode, Stewart touches on the good (Greg Brady, Rog Thomas ) and the bad (Fredo Corleone, Wayne Arnold).
He concludes that a sister is a better option, and he has one in mind.
Stewart whips out an incredibly unexpected scene from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Season 5 episode "Blood Ties," featuring Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) laying into Glory (Clare Kramer).
"That's the kind of government even tea parties can get behind," he says, further nestling his way into our hearts forever.
Sarah Palin, consider this an open invitation to join us for a "Buffy" marathon.
The Daily Show...
Discussing the many different kinds of pop culture older siblings who might best represent the American version of "Big Brother" on the Dec. 14 episode, Stewart touches on the good (Greg Brady, Rog Thomas ) and the bad (Fredo Corleone, Wayne Arnold).
He concludes that a sister is a better option, and he has one in mind.
Stewart whips out an incredibly unexpected scene from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Season 5 episode "Blood Ties," featuring Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) laying into Glory (Clare Kramer).
"That's the kind of government even tea parties can get behind," he says, further nestling his way into our hearts forever.
Sarah Palin, consider this an open invitation to join us for a "Buffy" marathon.
The Daily Show...
- 12/15/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Jonathan Ke Quan : Short Round in Temple of the Doom and Data Wang in Goonies
Dana Barron: Audrey Griswold in National Lampoon's Vacation
Austin O'Brien: Danny Madigan in The Last Action Hero
Ben Savage: Cory Mathews in "Boy Meets World"
Harvey Stephens: Damien in the original The Omen
Jeremy London: Ts in Mallrats
Jeremy Miller: Ben Seaver in "Growing Pains"
Jonathan Lipnicki: Ray Boyd in Jerry Maguire
Glenn Walker Harris Jr.: Jason Dobler in Say Anything
Ron Lester: Billy Bob in Varsity Blues
Ross Malinger : Jonah Baldwin in Sleepless in Seattle
Tiffany Brisette: Vickie the Robot in "Small Wonder"
Jonathon Taylor Thomas: Randy Taylor in "Home Improvement"
Jason Hervey: Wayne Arnold in "The Wonder Years"...
Dana Barron: Audrey Griswold in National Lampoon's Vacation
Austin O'Brien: Danny Madigan in The Last Action Hero
Ben Savage: Cory Mathews in "Boy Meets World"
Harvey Stephens: Damien in the original The Omen
Jeremy London: Ts in Mallrats
Jeremy Miller: Ben Seaver in "Growing Pains"
Jonathan Lipnicki: Ray Boyd in Jerry Maguire
Glenn Walker Harris Jr.: Jason Dobler in Say Anything
Ron Lester: Billy Bob in Varsity Blues
Ross Malinger : Jonah Baldwin in Sleepless in Seattle
Tiffany Brisette: Vickie the Robot in "Small Wonder"
Jonathon Taylor Thomas: Randy Taylor in "Home Improvement"
Jason Hervey: Wayne Arnold in "The Wonder Years"...
- 7/22/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
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