Fred Savage

Early life and education

Savage was born in Chicago, to Joanne and Lewis Savage (1946–2015), who was an industrial real estate broker and consultant. Savage grew up in Glencoe, Illinois, before moving to Southern California. His younger brother is actor Ben Savage and his younger sister is actress/musician Kala Savage. His grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland, Ukraine, Germany and Latvia. He was raised in Reform Judaism.

Savage was educated at Brentwood School, a private co-educational day school in Brentwood, in the Westside area of Los Angeles. He graduated from Stanford University in 1999, with a bachelor's degree in English and as a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Career

Acting

Savage's first screen performance was in the television show Morningstar/Eveningstar, at the age of nine. He then appeared onscreen in The Boy Who Could Fly, Dinosaurs!, and several television shows, including The Twilight Zone and Crime Story before gaining national attention as the grandson in the 1987 film The Princess Bride opposite Peter Falk.

In 1988, Savage starred in his most well-known role as Kevin Arnold on the comedy-drama television series The Wonder Years, which earned him two Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy and two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. At the age of thirteen, he was the youngest actor ever to receive these honors. He remained on the show until it ended in 1993. During this period, he appeared in several films, most notably Vice Versa (1988), and also starred in Little Monsters and The Wizard. After The Wonder Years ended, Savage returned to high school at age 17, and later attended Stanford. His first television role after high school was the NBC sitcom Working, which Savage starred in for its two-season run. Savage also had a series of guest and supporting roles in the late 1990s and the 2000s such as on the show Boy Meets World, (which starred his younger brother Ben Savage), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Legend of Prince Valiant, and the film Austin Powers in Goldmember as The Mole.

Savage has lent his voice to several animated projects, including Family Guy, Kim Possible, Justice League Unlimited, Oswald, and Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen. His two lead roles since The Wonder Years were on the short-lived sitcoms Working and Crumbs. He ranked at #27 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars.

In July 2008, Savage guest-starred in the web series The Rascal on Crackle.

In 2015, Savage returned to acting with the Fox series The Grinder. Producer Nick Stoller approached Savage about playing the role of Stewart on The Grinder.

In 2017, he joined the cast of the Netflix series Friends from College as Max Adler, a gay literary agent.

Directing and producing

In 1999, Savage began his directing career in which he helmed episodes of over a dozen television series. Savage's first directing credit was on the short-lived NBC sitcom Working which also starred Savage. Following Working, Savage began observing production on the Disney Channel show Even Stevens to further learn the craft of directing. Savage also learned by shadowing Amy Sherman-Palladino, Todd Holland, and James Burrows.

His credits include Zoey 101, Drake & Josh, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and Big Time Rush for Nickelodeon, as well as That's So Raven, Hannah Montana, and Wizards of Waverly Place for Disney Channel. Additionally, Savage has directed for prime-time network sitcoms including Modern Family and 2 Broke Girls.

Besides directing several episodes, Savage co-produced the Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future. In 2007, he was nominated for a Directors Guild award for the Phil episode "Not-So-Great-Great Grandpa".

Savage has served as a producer for several episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Friends with Benefits, Party Down, Phil of the Future, The Crazy Ones, and Happy Endings.

In 2007, he made his feature film directorial debut with the children's comedy film Daddy Day Camp, for which he was nominated for Worst Director at the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards.

Misconduct allegations

In 1993, Savage, then 16, and his Wonder Years co-star Jason Hervey were accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed by the show's former costume designer. Monique Long alleged the young actors "verbally and physically harassed her daily," with her complaints over their behavior ignored by the show's staff. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

In March 2018, a costume designer on The Grinder accused Savage of assault and intimidation and filed a complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging crimes including assault, battery, and gender discrimination. Savage denied the allegations. Fox later stated that an investigation cleared the actor of any wrongdoing.

On May 6, 2022, Savage was fired as executive producer and director of The Wonder Years reboot after an investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct. While Savage stated that "some of the claims were untrue", he also stated that he was going to work on changing any perceived negative behavior.

Personal life

Fred Savage married his childhood friend Jennifer Lynn Stone on August 7, 2004. They have three children.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. (August 16, 2021). "Horoscope". TV Guide.
2. "The Wonder Years".
3. "Lewis M. Savage (2015)".
4. (February 23, 2015). "Lewis Savage Obituary (2015) Chicago Tribune".
5. (July 18, 1946). "Lewis M. Savage".
6. Shirley, Don. (December 16, 2001). "LA Times: Theater; Not Just Acting Like an Adult; Fred Savage contemplates his roots – as a performer and a Jew – for 'Last Night of Ballyhoo". Articles.latimes.com.
7. Rubin, Sylvia. (May 5, 1996). "Fred Savage's Post-'Wonder Years' / He's all grown up, a Stanford student and a bad guy on TV".
8. "26 of the most famous and successful Stanford University students of all time".
9. "Winners & Nominees".
10. "Fred Savage Emmy Nominated". Emmys.com.
11. (February 2, 1998). "Life after 'Wonder Years' is 'Working' for Fred Savage".
12. "Fred Savage - IMDB".
13. Ricard, Sarah. (August 12, 2008). "International Espionage and Comedy with 'The Rascal'". Tilzy.TV.
14. Snierson, Dan. (October 7, 2015). "How Fred Savage went from actor to director to actor again with The Grinder". [[Meredith Corporation]].
15. Andreeva, Nellie. (May 12, 2016). "'Grinder', 'Grandfathered', 'Bordertown' & 'Cooper Barrett' Canceled By Fox After One Season".
16. Andreeva, Nellie. (August 22, 2016). "Keegan-Michael Key, Cobie Smulders & Fred Savage Lead Cast of Nick Stoller Netflix Series 'Friends from College'".
17. (May 3, 2012). "Fred Savage's Never-Ending Wonder Years as TV's Hot Comedy Director".
18. Trepany, Charles. (May 6, 2022). "Fred Savage Fired from 'The Wonder Years' Over 'Multiple' Misconduct Claims".
19. Rowles, Dustin. (May 6, 2022). "Revisiting 'The Wonder Years' Sexual Harassment Lawsuit During the MeToo Movement". [[Pajiba]].
20. Harris, Hunter. (March 21, 2018). "Fred Savage Accused of Physical Harassment on The Grinder Set".
21. Trepany, Charles. (May 6, 2022). "Fred Savage fired as 'Wonder Years' director, producer after misconduct investigation".
22. Trepany, Charles. (May 6, 2022). "Fred Savage fired as 'Wonder Years' director, producer after a misconduct investigation". [[USA Today]].
23. Butterfield, Michelle. (May 9, 2022). "Fred Savage fired from 'Wonder Years' reboot after misconduct investigation".
24. (August 10, 2022). "Fred Savage speaks out after 'Wonder Years' reboot firing". [[Today (American TV program).
25. (July 9, 2022). "Fred Savage's Ups and Downs Over the Years".
26. Grebenyuk, Yana. (July 9, 2022). "Fred Savage's Family Album Through the Years".
27. Locker, Melissa. (March 5, 2014). "Fred Savage to Direct and Executive Produce Garfunkel and Oates". IFC.
28. (April 29, 2019). ""What Just Happened??! With Fred Savage": Fictional Sci-Fi Thriller "The Flare" Gets After-Show, Co-Created and Hosted by Emmy Award Nominee Fred Savage, to Premiere Sunday, June 30, on FOX". [[The Futon Critic]].
29. Starner, Nina. (June 26, 2020). "Quibi just announced a Princess Bride remake you never expected to see".
30. Petski, Denise. (May 18, 2021). "ABC New Series Teasers: 'Queens', 'The Wonder Years', 'Abbott Elementary', 'Maggie' – Watch".