What Happened To The Original Cast Of The Wonder Years?

Hot off the success of "Growing Pains," the husband/wife duo of Neal Marlens and Carol Black's next project would not only be a show about a cherished time in history, but become history itself. "The Wonder Years" was born of their "personal experience of having come of age in a period when there was so much turmoil in the world."

The series about a boy growing up in the late 1960s employed a narrator, which Black said made it unique in giving the audience "a child's and an adult's point of view at the same time." Great detail was paid to every aspect of the production, including the soundtrack, in which she added: "we figured that the same way that 'Miami Vice' has a budget for stunts, we'd have a budget for music." This later became an issue, however, when trying to clear the licenses again for streaming and physical media releases — including the theme, Joe Cocker's cover of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends."

The show premiered in 1988 as a mid-season replacement, at a time when such designations rarely indicated network expectations of success. It did, however, get a coveted showcase directly after Super Bowl XXII, and "The Wonder Years" became an instant hit. 

After its abbreviated first season, the series won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1988. In its six seasons and 115 episodes, it would garner plenty more honors and adoring fans who either saw their past in Kevin Arnold, or their present in Fred Savage. The sort of rare show loved by young and old, it resonated with both past generations and ones with their future still largely ahead of them.

With a reboot debuting on ABC this fall, let's see what happened to the original cast of "The Wonder Years."

It's hard to imagine "The Wonder Years" without a narrator (someone did), or it not being narrated by Daniel Stern (he was hired for the job, then fired and replaced by friend Arye Gross for the pilot, then RE-hired with a big pay bump). 

It ended up, as Stern put it, "the greatest job in show business ever. I'd wake up, I'd stay in my pajamas, I'd record the show, and I'd go back to bed." His role as the narrator was never credited, but Stern's name did appear in the credits as the director of 10 episodes. For the series finale, during the final fade to black, we hear the voice of Kevin's son asking him to play catch, and that voice was the uncredited work of Stern's own son Henry, now a California State Senator.

Stern was one of "The Wonder Years" more well-known cast members, having debuted in the Academy Award winning "Breaking Away" and starring in "Diner." He reached new heights of fame at the same time appearing in "Home Alone," "City Slickers," and "Little Monsters," where he played father to ... Fred Savage. The two made fun of their Kevin Arnold dynamic on the "Family Guy" episode "FOX-y Lady." Stern directed the film "Rookie of the Year," voiced "Dilbert," and most recently played Aidy Bryant's father on Hulu's "Shrill."

Alley Mills wasn't an actual mother, but channeled her childhood best friend's mom while shaping her role as the generous and loving matriarch Norma Arnold, a "smart woman who just ended up being a homemaker, but she could've probably run a company." 

She not only looked out for Kevin, Wayne and Karen onscreen, but acted as the kids' advocate off screen as well. Mills kept things light and fun for all while filming, gaining a reputation for sticking peas up her nose and blowing them into her milk between takes. Mills spoke about what she found most touching about the show, "every single half-hour was about the human spirit somehow winning out in the end." However, she did not have kind things to say about the "ridiculous" sexual harassment suit filed against Savage and Hervey that may have prematurely cancelled the series.

The show gave her financial stability, allowed her to take more risks as an actor and tackle "weirder roles." One such role brought Mills back to television for another long haul (682 episodes!), as bipolar spinster Pamela Douglas on the "The Bold and the Beautiful." She was as good at chewing up the scenery as she was at chewing tea bags. Other notable roles include playing Wilson family matriarch Audree Wilson in TV movie "The Beach Boys: An American Family," playing the sister on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," and being Mrs. Orson Bean for 27 years. Her husband, the veteran actor, was tragically struck and killed by a car in 2020.

Olivia d'Abo played two different roles on "Growing Pains," which inspired show creator Neal Marlens and Carol Black to bring her along for "The Wonder Years." 

As the eldest Arnold child, Karen was a hippie caught up in the counterculture movement, leaving her mom to defend her — and her dad at wits' end. By the end of Season 3, when Karen turned 18 and was at a crossroads, d'Abo summed up her journey, "She began as a 16-year-old who said a lot of rebellious things she didn't really understand. She's matured, and in the final episodes of the season we see that she and her father are very much alike." She would stick around on the show until the end of Season 5, when she married Michael (David Schwimmer) and the two moved to Alaska. d'Abo returned for the series finale, complete with baby bump, where everyone was all smiles.

Born into fame, d'Abo's father was Mike, a songwriter and lead vocalist of the band Manfred Mann ("Mighty Quinn"), and her mother was model/actress Maggie London. Olivia's career started with a bang, making her acting debut opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984's "Conan the Destroyer," and went on to have a chock full resume that includes films like "Point of No Return," shows like "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and voicework for "Star Wars: Clone Wars." She was once engaged to Julian Lennon, lived with her Bond girl cousin Maryam, sang with Bon Jovi and Seal, and to this day, continues to age gracefully.

The tomboy in pigtails from down the block was quickly blossoming into a young woman, and made Kevin Arnold think about rounding a different kind of bases. 

This was the power and allure of one Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper, played with perfect innocence by Danica McKellar, who for 104 episodes tugged and pulled at Kevin's heartstrings, and the audiences' too. When she broke up with Kevin in the show, McKellar had broken up with her real world boyfriend a week prior, so the emotions and crying poured into the scene were real.

One of her favorite storylines "was that Winnie Cooper scored higher on her math SATs than Kevin Arnold, which ended up being kind of foreshadowing for all my mathematics." After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Mathematics, she penned several books on the subject, including the New York Times bestseller "Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail."

Re-defining her image as an adult, she posed for "Stuff" Magazine in 2005. She has certainly grown up since those "Wonder Years," appearing in lurid movies on the Lifetime network, "The West Wing," providing numerous voice overs for video games and cartoons, and has written and directed two short films. She has come full circle on her wholesome image, and is now a staple on the Hallmark Channel and very visible every Christmas time. She has also worked opposite Savage a handful of times, on episodes of the sitcom "Working" and the cartoon "Generator Rex."

Brandon Crane was cast three times on "The Wonder Years" for three different roles, before they settled on him to play the jolly and eager Doug Porter, who surfaced in Season 2. 

Crane relished his time on "the best show of the era," getting "paid to swim in gumballs, drink untold gallons of #yoohoo, become the ultimate Monopoly hustler, chronic pratfall man and be the best #fifthwheel to the wagon I could be. Other gigs would come, but none as sweet as this."

In between seasons, Crane took time to star in the revered 1990 TV miniseries of Stephen King's "It" as young Ben Hanscome (John Ritter played the older version). Following this run of roles, he "reached the awkward years and the work dried up." Crane thought of switching up career paths, but was lured back and studied theatre. Mainly sticking to the stage, Crane did make a cameo in "Chapter Two" of the big screen adaptation of "It" as one of elder Ben's employees.

He considers himself an "accomplished errorist," and is most happy to relive the past at fan conventions, as well as recording special messages for you and yours through Cameo. He also goes by Mister Culture Bakehouse, because his wife is rolling in (sour)dough. He helps her out by creating delicious looking videos and photography for the business.

[Fun fact: Acting runs in Crane's family. His grandfather Fred spoke the very first words in "Gone With the Wind."]

Giovanni Ribisi arrived in the final season, described as "Jeff Billings, the new kid in school. Believe it or not, he was the first kid I ever knew whose parents were divorced." Kevin was quick to befriend him, finding a kindred wiseguy spirit and enjoying his YOLO way of life. Jeff's fun-loving exterior, however, was a way to shield him from the pain of his parents separating, moving to a new town and school, and being asked to fit in.

Post-"Wonder Years," Ribisi's career shifted to feature films, as the original drummer in "That Thing You Do!," a medic in "Saving Private Ryan," the protagonist in "Boiler Room," Scarlett Johansson's aloof boyfriend in "Lost In Translation," and the greedy corporate suit Parker Selfridge in "Avatar." 

He has continued to mix in TV projects as well, making memorable guest appearances on "Friends" and "My Name Is Earl," and shifting about as the title character on Prime Video's "Sneaky Pete." He'll next return to Pandora with director James Cameron for several sequels to "Avatar." Ribisi remarked, "I've read the four films and it's incredible. You can't imagine how it could even be done." The first sequel is due in theaters in 2022.

When casting Winnie Cooper, the two finalists for the part were Danica McKellar and her older sister Crystal. According to the girls' mother Mahalia, they ultimately went with Danica, since she had the same color hair as Fred Savage. But the producers liked blond Crystal enough to write her a part also — as fiery Becky Slater, who Kevin only dates to make Winnie jealous. When that doesn't happen and he ends up dumping her, Kevin enters a hell beyond the fury of the girl he just scorned, complete with infinite dirty looks and a punch to the gut.

When Becky finally left Kevin alone after nine episodes, Crystal traded in a fictional school for real ones, earning an undergraduate degree at Yale and a law degree from Harvard. While she does have two minor roles on her resume in this century, she has no real interest in rejoining the industry, or even her sister as Hallmark Channel movie royalty, and instead is "focused on investing in innovative tech companies that improve our world." She is the founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm Anathem Ventures.

From 1988-1991, Robert Picardo was stuck in the 1960s, pulling double duty for ABC as a gynecologist in Vietnam on "China Beach," and as well as hapless P.E. teacher Ed Cutlip on "The Wonder Years." 

A man with almost too many emotions, he often confused his students, especially when attempting to draw the female anatomy during sex (mis)education. Picardo described his transformation into the role in 1990 by saying: "I don't remember actually creating the character. He sort of came out of me. The moment I put on the whistle and the cap on, he comes from some deep recess of my soul." For Picardo's physical challenges, he was nominated for an Emmy in 1989.

At Yale, Picardo was on a pre-med path, but switched to drama — and eventually Hollywood came calling with his first movie part, in Joe Dante's 1981 horror film "The Howling." He'd go on to collaborate with Dante on over 20 more projects including "Innerspace" and more recently, a 2016 episode of "Salem." His pre-med background helped with a slew of roles as doctors, including his best known one, as the Emergency Medical Holographic Doctor on "Star Trek: Voyager." "I'd always felt I had the nicest butt in the acting company," Picardo said, but when Jeri Ryan joined the cast, "it's hard to hold onto the title."

Currently he has a recurring role on Apple TV+'s "Dickinson," and keeps his head above the clouds as a board member of the Planetary Society, the space Advocacy nonprofit led by friend Bill Nye.

[Fun fact: Picardo's face became the inspiration for Johnny Cab in "Total Recall", and since he had a head up on the competition, he landed the role of Johnny's voice as well.]

Raye Birk read for P.E. teacher and coach Ed Cutlip, but ended up playing Assistant Principal Mr. Diperna, a role he ruled for 10 episodes over four seasons, including the pilot. 

From the beginning, the character singled out Kevin for being a troublemaker, and the two butted heads over many things, including the hiring and then firing of Kevin's mother as his secretary. As Kevin's Junior High days were winding down, Birk unsuccessfully tried to lobby showrunner Bob Brush to let Diperna get promoted to high school, so that Kevin could never escape him.

Ironically, Birk was studying to be a physical education teacher, but fear of being stuck in a gym for the rest of his life made him opt for the life of an actor. During his 20 years in Hollywood, he turned in memorable work cemented on his "permanent record" in two "Naked Gun" films as Papshmir, Cliff Clavin's postal rival on "Cheers," the bandleader on "Coach," an appreciative pig giver in "Doc Hollywood," and as Dr. Shapiro in the Coen Bros' "A Serious Man." Two shows he was particularly proud of appearing on were "The X-Files," and "Babylon 5." Birk also has a long career on the stage, including playing Scrooge in "A Christmas Story" well over 500 times, and runs his own training studio, The Actors Work Out.