5 LI connections in ‘The Wonder Years’
Josh Saviano, left, Fred Savage and Danica McKellar on "The Wonder Years." Credit: ABC
Thirty years ago following Super Bowl XXII, ABC premiered “The Wonder Years,” the first TV show to successfully mine baby-boom nostalgia. The show became an immediate hit and is now regarded as a TV classic. And the show has some definite Long Island connections, like these five:
Co-creator Neal Marlens (whose father, Al, was a Newsday managing editor) grew up in the Audubon Woods section of Huntington and graduated from Walt Whitman High School. He wanted to set the show in Huntington, but ABC preferred to set it in a generic, unnamed suburb.
Two of Marlens’ growing-up-pals, Paul Arnold and Kevin Gliwa, provided the inspiration for the name of Fred Savage’s character.
And Kevin’s best friend on the show, of course, was named Paul (played by Josh Saviano).
The maroon and white “Wildcats” logo that was used for the junior high attended by Kevin was the same as Marlens’ alma mater, Stimson Junior High (now Middle School) in Huntington Station.
Dan Lauria, who plays Kevin’s dad, grew up in Lindenhurst and was a star football player at Lindenhurst High School.
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
