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The Wonder Years is narrated by adult Kevin Arnold as he contemplates his teenage years, growing up between 1968 and 1973. The events in the series take place 20 years before the time of airing.
When the series begins, Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) is a 12-year-old on the cusp of his first kiss with his crush, the girl next door, Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar). Alongside his parents, older siblings, and best friend, Kevin navigates school, family life and sports in the late sixties and early seventies.
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Jack Arnold (Dan Lauria) is the father of Kevin, Wayne (Jason Hervey) and Karen (Olivia d’Abo). He is married to Norma (Alley Mills) and works in a middle management position for a company he hates. He is a terse and bad-tempered man with a tendency to take his frustrations out on those closest to him. A veteran of the Korean War, he served in the United States Marine Corps.
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Matriarch Norma Arnold (Alley Mills) is a sweet and kind and itching to break free of her housewife routine. She met her husband as a freshman in college and didn’t graduate because she moved across the country with him when he graduated.
Karen Arnold (Olivia d’Abo) is Kevin’s hippie older sister who relies on her mother to help temper her strained relationship with her conservative father.
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Wayne Arnold (Jason Hervey) is Kevin’s older brother. Wayne likes to pick on his younger brother and struggles with dating.
Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar) is Kevin’s pretty neighbor and main love interest. In the pilot episode, Winnie learns her brother was killed in action in Vietnam; devastated she ends up kissing Kevin. Their ongoing relationship is a focus of the show.
Paul Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano) is Kevin’s best friend and confidante. Unlike Kevin, Paul is Jewish, very smart and has allergies. Despite their many differences, the two lean on each other for support throughout their teenage years.
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Main Cast
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Kevin Arnold | Fred Savage |
| Kevin Arnold (The Narrator) | Daniel Stern |
| Jack Arnold | Dan Lauria |
| Norma Arnold | Alley Mills |
| Wayne Arnold | Jason Hervey |
| Karen Arnold | Olivia d’Abo |
| Winnie Cooper | Danica McKellar |
| Paul Pfeiffer | Josh Saviano |
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Additional Cast
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Randy Mitchell | Michael Tricario |
| Doug Porter | Brandon Crane |
| Chuck Coleman | Andy Berman |
| Coach Cutlip | Robert Picardo |
| Jeff Billings | Giovanni Ribisi |
| Brett | John Frear |
| Carla Healy | Krista Murphy |
| Ricky Halsenbach | Scott Nemes |
| Mr. Cantwell | Ben Stein |
| Becky Slater | Crystal McKellar |
| Craig Hobson | Sean Baca |
| Mr. Diperna | Raye Birk |
| Mrs. Ritvo | Linda Hoy |
| Miss White | Wendel Meldrum |
| Harold Gruntner | Josh Berman |
| Kirk McCraig | Michael Landes |
| Debbie Pfeiffer | Torrey Ann Cook |
| Ida Pfeiffer | Stephanie Satie |
| Tony Barbella | Tony Nittoli |
| Alice Pedermeir | Lindsay Sloane |
| Madeline Adams | Julie Condra |
| Alvin Pfeiffer | John C. Moskoff |
| Mr. Cooper | H. Richard Greene |
| Young Karen Arnold | Jodie Rae |
| Billy | Rocky Costanzo |
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Trivia
In 1988, The Wonder Years won an Emmy for best comedy, despite only airing for six episodes.
Alley Mills has been married to actor Orson Bean (best known for playing Loren Bray on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) since 1993. Her first marriage, but his third, Bean is 23 years her senior.
Dan Lauria served in the United Stated Marine Corps and is a veteran of the Vietnam War.
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Josh Saviano is now an attorney living in New York with his wife Jennifer (also an attorney) and their daughter, Noa.
Fred Savage is the older brother of Ben Savage, who starred in the series Boy Meets World.
Winnie lost significant screen time when McKellar had a growth spurt and looked too tall standing next to Fred Savage, who was shorter than her to begin with. The problem was resolved after Savage started catching up in height.
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Olivia d’Abo was once engaged to Julian Lennon.
Alley Mills and Orson Bean have acted together several times on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and in several plays at the Pacific Resident Theatre in Los Angeles.
Daniel Stern has been married for 33 years and has three children.
Jason Hervey used childhood memories for inspiration when he had to bully Kevin. The scene where Wayne inches the car forward so Kevin can’t get in was inspired by a trick his older brother played on him.
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In 2011, the series finale was ranked at eleventh on the TV Guide Network’s TV’s Most Unforgettable Finales.
Dan Lauria usually plays gruff, stern characters.
Danica McKellar wrote four non-fiction books to encourage middle and high school girls to succeed in math; Math Doesn’t Suck, Kiss My Math, Hot X: Algebra Exposed and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape.
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Fred Savage has been married to his wife Jennifer since 2004 and they have three children. Similar to his character Kevin, the two met as childhood neighbors. He proposed with a 5-carat sapphire ring, and instead of wedding presents, the couple requested for donations to the “Cancer Center Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles,” in memory of a childhood friend.
In the last episode, Daniel Stern spoke to his own son, Henry, as the narrator’s son.
In the series finale, Kevin mentions Paul Pfeiffer went to Harvard and became a lawyer. Josh Saviano went to Yale (Harvard’s rival) and became a lawyer.
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In 1999, Jason Hervey filed a lawsuit against a wedding chapel in Las Vegas for selling photographs of his second marriage to a tabloid.
Olivia d’Abo is also known for singing.
Daniel Stern is known for his roles in City Slickers and the Home Alone movies.
Danica McKellar’s first kiss was her on-screen first kiss with Fred Savage in the pilot episode.
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Alley Mills graduated from Yale University.
All three schools the characters attended – Lincoln Junior High, RFK Junior High and McKinley Senior High – were named after men that had been assassinated.
Dan Lauria loves James Cagney films. During the The Wonder Years’ run, he hosted “double picture night” at his house and invited the cast over to watch.
In 2005, Wayne Arnold was listed seventh in TV Guide’s list of “TV’s 10 Biggest Brats.”
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The Wonder Years was named one of the twenty best shows of the 1980’s by TV Guide.
Danica McKellar is fluent in the French.
Fred Savage is a graduate of Stanford University but took a year off to appear in the television show Working.
At only thirteen years old, Fred Savage became the youngest actor to be nominated as “Outstanding Lead Actor for a Comedy Series.”
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Jason Hervey’s godfather is professional wrestler Terry Funk.
Daniel Stern went on a USO tour to Kuwait and Iraq in 2003.
Before acting, Dan Lauria was a substitute teacher and coached football and wrestling.
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Olivia d’Abo has one child.
While at Yale University, Josh Saviano became president of “Sigma Nu” fraternity.
Alley Mills studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Danica McKellar gave birth to her first child, a son named Draco, at age of 35.
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Until 2014, The Wonder Years was unreleased on DVD as official season box sets because of a music licensing issue, as such it topped the list of TV series that were wanted for DVD release. In February 2014, “StarVista/Time-Life” released the entire series and ensured it was known they were “painstakingly securing the rights for virtually every song.”
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Karen says
I’m 68 years old. This series is without a doubt, my favorite. I’ve just rewatched the entire series. I lived during those times and they definitely get the feel and experiences correct. I love it. I laugh and cry. I miss it.