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'The Wonder Years' 35th anniversary: Then and now
By Lori Bashian
Published February 03, 2023
It has been 35 years since audiences were introduced to the Arnold family in the hit show "The Wonder Years."
The show ran for six seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1993, and throughout its run – the series won four Emmy Awards, for outstanding comedy series, outstanding writing in a comedy series and twice for outstanding directing in a comedy series.
"The Wonder Years" had a very different format than the other family-oriented sitcoms at the time, being one of the first to not film in front of a live studio audience or include a laugh track, opening the door for others to stray from the established format, with a lot of today's shows choosing to go the same route.
In addition to challenging the format of sitcom, the show also launched the careers of many of its young stars. Here is a look at the cast members' lives over three decades later:
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Fred Savage
Fred Savage became the youngest person to win an Emmy Award, when he won at the age of 13 for his role on "The Wonder Years." (Getty Images)
Fred Savage's role as Kevin Arnold earned him the status as the youngest actor to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award and win an Emmy Award, receiving the award at 13 years old.
While filming the last season of "Wonder Years," Savage was sued by a member of the crew on accusations of verbal and physical harassment. The case was settled out of court; however, years later, similar accusations were made against the actor. In 2018, a crew member on Savage's show "The Grinder" sued, alleging assault and battery on Savage's part against her. Savage denied the accusations and the case was dismissed.
His starring role on the show led to Savage landing more roles in movies such as "The Wizard" and "Little Monsters," as well as making guest appearances on shows such as "Seinfeld" and "The Legend of Prince Valient." After a three-year gap after the end of "The Wonder Years," Savage continued appearing in TV movies and in episodes of popular TV shows including his brother's show "Boy Meets World."
In 2022, Fred Savage was fired from "The Wonder Years" reboot after an investigation into his actions was initiated following accusations of "inappropriate conduct." He denied the allegations. (Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/WireImage)
Savage then appeared in "Austin Powers in Goldmember," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and since 2011, has mostly been making guest appearances such as on "Modern Family" and "Family Guy" and "Deadpool 2" He starred in "The Grinder" and joined the cast of Netflix's "Friends From College" in 2017, but both shows were canceled.
In 2022, Savage was fired from "The Wonder Years" reboot after an investigation into his actions was initiated following accusations of "inappropriate conduct." Once again, he denied the allegations.
Dan Lauria
Dan Lauria is most well known for portraying the Arnold family patriarch, Jack Arnold on "The Wonder Years," having played the part for all six seasons. (Getty Images)
Dan Lauria is most well known for portraying the Arnold family patriarch, Jack Arnold on "The Wonder Years," having played the part for all six seasons.
When the show came to an end, Lauria continued appearing in TV movies and making appearances on shows, including "In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco," "Amazing Grace," "NYPD Blue," "Chicago Hope" and "Terror in the Family," before landing the role of Commanding Officer in "Independence Day."
He also appeared in "Boy Meets World," "Walker, Texas Ranger," "Merry Christmas, George Bailey," "ER," "Law & Order," "Hangman," "Smallville" and "7th Heaven." In 2006, Lauria made his return to the stage in an Off Broadway production of "A Stone Carver" before returning to small roles on TV such as on "The Mentalist" and "Army Wives."
In 2009, he starred in the Off Broadway play "Good Bobby" about the rise of Robert F. Kennedy, and in 2010 played Vince Lombardi in the Broadway play "Lombardi," for which he earned positive reviews. Throughout the next decade he appeared in "Nurse Jackie," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Hot In Cleveland," "Grey's Anatomy," "The Good Wife," "NCIS" and "Shameless."
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Most recently he guest starred in "This Is Us" and "The Goldbergs."
Alley Mills
Alley Mills portrayed Norma Arnold, the matriarch of the Arnold family for all six seasons on "The Wonder Years," going on to have an illustrious career as a soap opera star. (Getty Images)
Alley Mills portrayed Norma Arnold, the matriarch of the Arnold family for all six seasons on "The Wonder Years," going on to have an illustrious career as a soap opera star.
For around a decade after the end of "The Wonder Years," Mills appeared in guest roles on a number of TV shows, including "NYPD Blue," "Girlfriends," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Yes Dear."
In 2006, Mills landed the part of Pamela Douglas on "The Bold and the Beautiful," the sister of one of the former characters on the show. She was on the show until 2022 and took a break from doing other projects for a few years before returning in "Satin," "3 Holiday Tails," "Reluctant Nanny" and "Maybe Someday."
Mills went on to join the cast of "General Hospital" as Heather Webber, the current main antagonist of the show.
Mills married her husband actor Orson Beam, in 1993. The two were married until his death at the age 91 in 2020.
Danica McKellar
Danica McKellar's role as Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years" was her first big acting job. (Getty Images)
Danica McKellar's role as Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years" was her first big acting job after having enrolled in acting classes at 7 years old. Having grown up on the show, McKellar had her first kiss on camera with Savage.
Following her time on "The Wonder Years," McKellar appeared in a number of TV shows and Lifetime movies, including "Walker, Texas Ranger," "Working," "Justice for Annie: A Moment of Truth Movie," "Even Stevens" and an eight-episode arc on "The West Wing." She also appeared in Debbie Gibson's music video for "Electric Youth."
McKellar is part of the Marvel Universe, having lent her voice to the video games, "X-Men Legends," "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance" and "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2." She also had guest roles on "How I Met Your Mother," "The Big Bang Theory," "NCIS" and "NYPD Blue."
The actress has starred in over 15 movies for the Hallmark Channel, including "You, Me & the Christmas Trees," "Christmas She Wrote," "Matchmaker Mysteries: A Killer Engagement," "Love and Sunshine" and "Very, Very Valentine." She competed on season 18 of "Dancing with the Stars," partnering with Val Chmerkovskey and finishing in sixth place, and is currently a judge on "Domino Masters" on FOX.
McKellar also recently starred in Great American Family’s "Christmas at the Drive-In."
Danica McKellar, left, and Fred Savage played love interests on the show. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Aside from acting, McKellar has also written four books, all geared toward children and getting them interested in math, which she was inspired to write after having homeschooled her son for his whole life.
She was married to composer Michael Verta on March 2009 after dating for eight years. The couple divorced in 2010 and share one son, Draco. In November 2014, she married lawyer Scott Sveslosky in Hawaii.
Jason Hervey
Jason Hervey is best known for having played Fred Savage's older brother Wayne Arnold on "The Wonder Years" for six seasons. (Getty Images)
Jason Hervey is best known for having played Fred Savage's older brother Wayne Arnold on "The Wonder Years" for six seasons, having appeared in a number of popular projects, including "Back to the Future," prior to taking on the role. His work as Wayne landed him at number 71 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars list.
His time on the show led him to star in TV movies, such as "Take Me Home Again" and "Spring Fling!" as well as having guest spots on shows like "Love Boat: The Next Wave," "Working," "100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd" and "Justice League Unlimited" in 2004.
That was Hervey's last acting credit until 2011, when he appeared in three episodes of TNA iMPACT Wrestling!, and later appearing in "You, Me & the Christmas Trees" alongside McKellar in 2021.
Hervey also became friends with World Championship Wrestling vice president Eric Bischoff, and together they formed the now-defunct Bischoff Hervey Entertainment, which produced sports and reality television shows, including "I Want to Be a Hilton," "Scott Baio Is 45...and Single" and "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling."
Jason Hervey quit acting in 2004, not returning until 2011 and then taking a break again until 2021. (Photo by Bruce Gifford/FilmMagic)
In 2015, Hervey spent a weekend in jail for an alleged DUI, according to People magazine. Hervey also faced a sexual harassment lawsuit in 1993 with costar Savage, the outlet reports. It ultimately led to the show's cancelation.
Hervey has been married twice, the first time in 1994 to Kelley Patricia O’Neill, however the marriage was annulled in 1995. He is currently married to Shannon Hervey, also known as Angel Hart, who he married in 1998. The couple have two children together, and he is stepfather to her child from a previous relationship.
Josh Saviano
Josh Saviano has very few acting credits outside his role as Paul Pfeiffer on "The Wonder Years," with a total of five credits listed on IMDb. (Getty Images)
Josh Saviano has very few acting credits outside his role as Paul Pfeiffer on "The Wonder Years," with a total of five credits listed on IMDb.
Most of Saviano's work was done around the same time he was starring on the hit show, having appeared in "The Wrong Guys," "The Ray Bradbury Theater" and "Camp Cucamonga" in that time.
Saviano ultimately quit acting in order to attend college, pursuing a political science major at Yale University, and later earning his law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. He went on to start his own independent advisory firm which does consulting work for artists, entertainers and athletes, according to his LinkedIn.
He briefly returned to acting to play a lawyer on a few episodes of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," from 2014 to 2015. Saviano has been married to his wife Jennifer Saviano since 2002, and they have a daughter, Noa, together.
Olivia d'Abo
Olivia d'Abo played Fred Savage's older sister Karen Arnold on "The Wonder Years." (Getty Images)
Olivia d'Abo had been in a few films and TV shows before getting the role of Fred Savage's older hippie sister Karen Arnold on "The Wonder Years," and continued to act in other projects while on the show, including on "Beyond the Stars," "Another Chance" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
After the show, d'Abo appeared in a number of movies, such as "Bank Robber" and "Wayne's World 2," among others, and also in the shows, "The Single Guy," "The Wild Thornberrys," "Fantasy Island" and "Party of Five."
She had a starring role in the film "Jonni Nitro," playing the titular character, a three-episode arc on "Spin City" and voiced Jane Porter in the short-lived "The Legend of Tarzan" TV series and appeared on "Alias," with Jennifer Garner. From 2002 to 2008, d'Abo had a recurring role on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," as a recurring villain Nicole Wallace. In that same time period, she made her Broadway debut in "The Odd Couple," alongside Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.
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As a singer and songwriter, d'Abo released her first and only album, "Not TV," in July 2008, and has sung duets with Julian Lennon and Bon Jovi. She started a podcast in 2015 with Dan Miles called "Every Friday with Dan and Olivia," however it ended in 2018.
D'Abo was engaged to Julian Lennon in the 90s, however the couple called it off in 1992, and she began dating actor Thomas Jane, getting engaged to him in 1998 before calling it off in 2001. She was married to songwriter and music producer Patrick Leonard from 2002 to 2012.
The actress has one son, Oliver William d'Abo.
Daniel Stern
Daniel Stern was never seen on "The Wonder Years," but he narrated the show for its entire run. (Getty Images)
Although Daniel Stern's face was never seen on an episode of "The Wonder Years," he played a big part in the show, as the narrator for the series. He acted as the older version of Fred Savage's Kevin, looking back and telling the audience stories from his childhood.
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While voicing the narrator, Stern starred in "Little Monsters," "Home Alone," "City Slickers" and "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." He made his directorial debut in the 1995 film, "Bushwhacked," following that with appearances in "Very Bad Things," "Viva Las Nowhere," 'The Last Time," "Otis" and "A Previous Engagement," as well as voicing the titular character in "Dilbert."
He then appeared in "Whip It," "The Next Three Days," "Workaholics," "House of Lies," ’Manhattan" and "Angie Tribeca." Most recently, he appeared in "Game Over Mom," "James vs. His Future Self," "Shrill" and "For All Mankind."
Aside from acting, Stern has a passion for art, specializing in bronze sculptures, having participated in private commissions, gallery exhibitions, and art fairs throughout California.
Daniel Stern and Laure Mattos have been married since 1980 and have three children together. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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Stern married actress Laure Mattos in 1980 and the couple have three children together, daughters Ella and Sophie Stern and their son, California State Senator Henry Stern. His son Henry delivered the second to last line on "The Wonder Years," being heard in the background asking the narrator, "Hey Dad, wanna play catch?" and the older Kevin Arnold responds, "I'll be right there."
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/the-wonder-years-35th-anniversary-then-and-now