Fred Savage fired from 'The Wonder Years' for 'inappropriate conduct': report

Actor Fred Savage came to prominence on the 1988 television series "The Wonder Years," but has been fired from the reboot of the show, People magazine reported Friday night.

"Recently, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Fred Savage, and as is policy, an investigation was launched. Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his employment as an executive producer and director of 'The Wonder Years,'" a spokesperson for 20th Television told the magazine.

Savage, 45, starred as Kevin Arnold in the original series.

"The allegations come four years after actress Alley Mills, who played Savage's mother Norma Arnold in the original series, alleged in 2018 that a sexual harassment lawsuit against the actor and Jason Hervey ended the show in 1993. Hervey portrayed Savage's older brother Wayne Arnold," the magazine reported. "Costume designer Monique Long sued the TV brothers in 1993, claiming that their alleged verbal and physical harassment prevented her from properly doing her job and led to her being fired, per Vanity Fair. The lawsuit was ultimately settled and dropped."

Deadline predicted the news would stun many.

"The accusations probably come as a shock to a generation of Americans who grew up with Savage and his hugely popular characters as a child actor: He played the grandson in 1987’s modern classic 'The Princess Bride,' and Kevin Arnold, a teenager growing up in a suburban middle-class family in the late 1960s and early 1970s, on the original Wonder Years series, which aired on ABC from 1988-93. He was 12 when he was cast in the series, and at 13 he received the first of two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series — becoming the youngest actor ever nominated in the category," Deadline noted.

The Hollywood Reporter says Savage issued a statement saying “none of the accusations being leveled at me are true.”