Is Fred Savage dead? No, but literacy in America may be on life support. The latest death hoax to hit the Internet, Twitter, etc. involves the lovable star of 'The Wonder Years,' but the culprit here seems to be the actor's slight resemblance to another, actually dead, actor.

During the Emmys "In Memoriam" segment, during which photos of the famously deceased appear alongside a sad song, an image of a young Corey Haim appeared that -- to some viewers -- resembled an equally-spry Savage. Of course, the words "Corey Haim" were overlaid on the screen, but shortly after it aired, the phrase "Fred Savage Dead" began trending on Google.

Results for that search term deliver grim (and fake!) headlines claiming the actor perished in a drunk driving accident (some even say his brother, Ben, is dead as well!), but viewers picked up on the rumor on Twitter and it spread. Many intrepid Twitterers are simply retweeting the "Dead" headline and bogus news links, while others are discussing how they saw his picture during the Emmys.

Savage, who is 34 and now focuses on directing, has not commented on the silliness on his own Twitter page, but seeing as he was micro-blogging as recently as last night following the Emmys, we're certain Kevin Arnold is alive and well.

Haim died March 10 of natural causes from "community-acquired pneumonia" along with lung, heart and blood vessel problems, according to an autopsy report. While drugs were found in his system, they played no role in his death.

http://www.popeater.com/2010/08/30/fred-savage-death-dead-hoax-emmys-memoriam/