Yet another head has rolled in the television industry’s efforts to deal with inappropriate behavior. This time round, it’s Fred Savage, who has been fired by Disney as allegations against him are being investigated.
The former child star lost his job this week as executive producer and director of the reinvented ABC comedy series, The Wonder Years, having already directed eight episodes in the show’s first season. Savage starred in the original 1988 version of the show, which had been revived to focus on an African American family in 1960s Birmingham.
A spokesperson for 20th Television, a Disney subsidiary, told media outlets this week: “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.”
While details about the allegations have not been revealed, they reportedly include Savage’s temper tantrums and other inappropriate behavior. This is not the first time the actor/director/producer has been accused of misconduct, having been accused of sexual harassment by a Wonder Years costumer in 1993, when Savage was 16. In 2018, a crew member on The Grinder, one of Savage’s series, sued him for allegations of sexual misconduct. Savage denied the allegations and the suit was settled out of court.
Speaking of the earlier incident, Alley Miles was quoted in The New York Times as saying: “It was so not true…It was my dresser, and I don’t care if she’s listening — I probably shouldn’t be telling this, but I don’t care.”
Over the years, Savage has appeared in a number of high-profile roles on television, playing youthful characters in The Princess Bride and on the original Wonder Years series, which appeared on ABC for five years beginning in 1988. At the age of 13, he became the youngest actor ever nominated for an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.