Brian Cooper

Winnie Cooper (younger sister)

**Brian Cooper**( January 11, 1949 - September 9, 1968)

## Biography

Brian Cooper was born to Evelyn and Mr. Cooper in January 11, 1949 and was 4 years old when the Korean War took place. His younger sister Winnie Cooper was born in 1956. He was good friends with Jack Arnold and used to help Kevin Arnold whenever he was being beaten up by Wayne Arnold. He was seen during the first scene of the series premiere, where he was working on a 1950s automobile. Wayne was about to attack Kevin when Brian intervened, telling Wayne to cut it out, which Wayne immediately did, suggesting he held some fear or respect for Brian Cooper. Kevin then saw a mousy girl with cat's eye glasses come out of the house, Gwendolyn, who was Brian's little sister.

Brian received a draft notice and was sent to Fort Lee for his basic training. After graduating basic training, he then went to advanced school and was then deployed to Vietnam. While in Vietnam he was in a battle, where he was wounded from a gunshot.

On September 9th, 1968, Norma and Jack Arnold were called to Robert F Kennedy School by Mr. DiPerna, who had disciplined Kevin and Wayne for fighting in the cafeteria. The brothers were brought home by their angry parents to await punishment, but a far more serious matter confronted the Arnold family. Norma found Evelyn and Winnie Cooper crying and wondered what was the matter. She burst into tears herself, then telling Jack and the boys that Brian had succumbed to his wounds in battle and is now dead. Brian's death would be a turning point for Kevin and Winnie, as that same night they went to Harper's Wood and had their first kiss.

### Posthumous

While Brian only starred in the pilot episode, he would be mentioned multiple times throughout the show. When Kevin attended Brian's funeral, he never expected to see one with a flag-draped coffin, and thinks to himself "This was the first funeral I went to that was not for an old person". During the wake, everyone is comforting the Coopers, but Kevin is thinking about Winnie and his kiss with her in Harper's Wood. Kevin is then visited by the ghost of Brian, who jokes that Kevin has the hots for his little sister. Brian tells Kevin he is fine with Kevin going after Winnie, but recommends waiting until she and her parents have better accepted his death.

Brian would be mentioned throughout the show's run. One such mention was during a Christmas episode where Kevin paid Winnie a visit, expecting a romantic evening. He is instead met at the door by a woman who is housesitting for the Coopers. The woman went on to say that the Coopers have taken Winnie to see their family as this were having a hard time enjoying Christmas without Brian. Kevin then meandered through the neighborhood, his adult self saying "I thought about a lot of issues that night. About Winnie. About Brian."

At the end of The Wonder Years (2021) episode "Love and War" (Season 1 Episode 19), it is revealed that Brian had been friends with Bruce Williams. Bruce had been present at the incident that had resulted in Brian's death. The two had previously made a pact that if one died and the other survived, the survivor would contact the other's family. Bruce was injured, but survived the incident, resulting in Bruce being medically discharged from the service. Bruce initially was not able to fulfill his promise due to him feeling survivor's guilt over Brian's death. Eventually, after he finally opened up about the incident to his family, Bruce was able to write the Coopers and return a picture that Brian had kept with him of Brian and Winnie to the Coopers, finally finding closure over his friend's death.