Fred Savage life and biography

Fredrick Aaron "Fred" Savage (born July 9, 1976 in Glencoe, Illinois, U.S.) is an American actor, director and producer of television and film. He is perhaps best known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the television series The Wonder Years and the grandson in The Princess Bride.

In later years, he has directed and produced numerous episodes of children's programs, such as Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Hannah Montana, and Phil of the Future, as well as the primetime series Ugly Betty and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. He has also appeared in Family Guy and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

"Sidelights"

Since early 1988 a generation of baby-boom Americans have watched itself grow up all over again, through the eyes of one junior high school boy---Kevin Arnold, the hero of The Wonder Years, the popular ABC comedy-drama set in the late 1960s. Kevin's every preadolescent hope and fear is personified through Fred Savage, the young actor who plays him with a sense of empathy that has won both Fred and the show raves.

The brown-haired, slightly built Chicago native, age twelve when the series started, had already had a healthy actor's resume behind him. "It all started with a hot dog," Fred tells People reporter Joanne Kaufman. When Fred was just five, his mother heard of a local audition for a hot dog commercial. She took him there for a lark: "It wasn't like we were starting a career for him or anything," Joanne Savage points out in the article. In another People article, by Susan Schindehette, Fred recalls the audition as easy: "I had to eat a hot dog and smile. I love hot dogs. I asked if I could keep it." He didn't get the commercial, but the casting director remembered the boy. Some months later Fred could be seen touting Pac Man vitamins and other products on national television. Having an actor in the family kept the Savages on the run. "When Fred did his first print ad for Froot Loops," his father, Lew, says to Schindehette, "we left this party and ran to the 7-Eleven and tore open the paper at midnight to see him in the Chicago Tribune. It has always been exciting for us."

Soon Fred branched out into movies, playing a put-upon little brother in The Boy Who Could Fly, a flu-sufferer whose grandfather reads him the tale of The Princess Bride, and the youthful incarnation of his father in the body-switch comedy Vice Versa. Fred's professionalism and talent received unusual recognition in late 1987, when New World Television was preparing The Wonder Years and "Fred was the one child actor every casting agent recommended for the lead role," as David Blum states in a New York article.

The nostalgic series is framed by the voice of the now-grown Kevin Arnold as he recalls special people and events of his youth. For his part, Fred was initially hazy about the details of 1968---"I bet there'd be lots of hippies and stuff. And malt shops and places that say, "Shave and a haircut, two bits," he offers Schindehette. But, as the writer describes it, "aided by brown saucer-sized eyes, chipmunk cheeks and a smile that's wider than the San Andreas fault, Savage's almost unthinkable adorability has...helped pull The Wonder Years into the Neilsen Top 10."

Celebrity has brought expected pressures (the young actor works five-day, 48-hour weeks on the set) and unexpected perks. In his first Wonder Year, for instance, Fred "attended the Golden Globe awards, served as one of the grand marshals at a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, got invited by Barbara Bush to attend the Inauguration (he had to take a rain check because of a conflicting shooting schedule), presented a People's Choice award and narrated a film at Comic Relief III," according to People. And Fred calls meeting Clint Eastwood, a Wonder Years fan, a great moment in his life.

Fred's reception has sparked the acting instinct in his little brother Ben, who is featured in the comedy Dear John. "Such precocious successes strongly suggest a willful, driving stage mother, but so much for strong suggestion," declares Kaufman. "Joanne Savage still can't believe she is mother to two pint-size celebs." As Joanne insists, "We are not an acting family, we just went to auditions. We are just so normal. " Still, Lew Savage notes to Schindehette the real satisfaction of success. "The look on Fred's face when he gets something new is so amazing, like he's just won the Super Bowl and the World Series together. I love that look, and I'll never forget it."

AWARDS
Emmy nomination as best actor in a comedy series, 1989.

CAREER
Acted in his first commercial at age six; since then has made some 70 commercials and television appearances; feature roles in films The Boy Who Could Fly, The Princess Bride, Vice Versa, and Little Monsters; star of television series The Wonder Years, ABC, 1988--.

WORK:
Filmography

* The Boy Who Could Fly (1986) as Louis Michaelson
* Dinosaurs! - A Fun-Filled Trip Back in Time! (1987)
* The Princess Bride (1987)
* Vice Versa (1988)
* The Wizard (1989) as Corey Wood
* Little Monsters (1989)
* Runaway Ralph (1988)
* No One Would Tell (1996) as Bobby Tennison
* A Guy Walks Into a Bar (1997)
* The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story (1998)
* The Rules of Attraction (2002) as 'A Junkie Named Marc' [sic]
* Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
* The Last Run (2004)
* Welcome to Mooseport (2004)

Acting credits: TV

* Morningstar/Eveningstar (1986–1987)
* Convicted: A Mother's Story (1987)
* Runaway Ralph (1988)
* Run Till You Fall (1988)
* The Wonder Years (1988–1993)
* When You Remember Me (1990)
* Christmas on Division Street (1991)
* Seinfeld ("The Trip") (1992)
* No One Would Tell (1996)
* How Do You Spell God? (1996)
* Working (1997)
* Area 52 (2001)
* Oswald (2001) (Animated Voice of Oswald)
* Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2002) as Michael Gardner (Episode Futility)
* Justice League Unlimited (2004) as Hawk
* Crumbs (2006)
* Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen (2006)
* It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2007)
* Family Guy (2009)
* Generator Rex (2010) as Noah

Director

* Boy Meets World (1999–2000) 2 episodes
* All About Us (2001) 2 episodes
* Even Stevens (2001–2002) 2 episodes
* Drake & Josh (2004) 1 episode
* Kitchen Confidential (2005) 1 episode
* Zoey 101 (2005) 2 episodes
* What I Like About You (2005) 1 episode
* That's So Raven (2003–2005) 2 episodes
* Stephen's Life (2005) TV movie
* Unfabulous (2004–2005) 5 episodes
* Phil of the Future (2004–2006) 9 episodes
* Cavemen (2007) 1 episode
* Hannah Montana (2006–2007) 2 episodes
* Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (2004–2007) 6 episodes
* Daddy Day Camp (2007) Tristar Pictures
* Aliens in America (2007–2008) 4 episodes
* Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2008) 3 episodes
* Ugly Betty (2008) 1 episode
* It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2007–2009) 18 episodes
* Worst Week (2008) 1 episode
* Party Down (2009-2010) 9 episodes
* Ruby & The Rockits (2009) 1 episode
* Greek (2009) 2 episodes
* Sons of Tucson (2010)
* Big Time Rush (2010)

Read more