The story of Fast Times at Ridgemont High begins in 1979 when Cameron Crowe, who was writing for Rolling Stone at time time, published a book by the same name containing observations after spending a year undercover as a high school senior.
Over the course of nine months, Cameron Crowe acted as if he were just any normal student with the only people in on the gag being Ridgemont High School’s principal, his homeroom teacher, and several other instructors.
When it came time to write the book, Crowe left himself out of the narrative and instead focused on six major characters, which would become the basis for teens featured in the movie three years later.
Upon the release of the film in August 1982, The Washington Post published a lengthy profile on Crowe and his year masquerading as a 17-year-old even though he was well into his 20s at the time.