William Daniels Says 'Love and Family' Keeps Him Going as He Turns 94​

[TMC]

https://twitter.com/people/status/1377274500081942530

Here's to another trip around the sun, Mr. Feeny.

William Daniels, who played the beloved teacher on Boy Meets World, turned 94 on Wednesday. Asked how it feels to be reaching the milestone, the actor jokes to PEOPLE, "Better than the alternative!"

So how will he be celebrating? He'll spend some time filming Cameos with his son, Michael. Daniels, who has been on Cameo for some time now, says he's "amazed" by all of the fan love he's received. (The app allows fans to pay celebrities to record a short, personalized video message for a certain fee; you can request one from Daniels here.)

Then he, his wife of almost 70 years, Bonnie Bartlett, his son, Michael, and his granddaughter, Grace, will head out for dinner at their local California Pizza Kitchen in Los Angeles. It's no surprise that when asked to share a life lesson or two that keeps him going, Daniels' answer is short, sweet and profound: "Love and family."

He also credits exercise — and if you're ever seeking motivation in that department, this Instagram video of Daniels doing full-body sit-ups should do the trick.

Daniels played the wise and nurturing Mr. Feeny for all seven seasons of ABC's Boy Meets World, from 1993-2000. He's also known for his role as Mark Craig in NBC's medical drama St. Elsewhere, for which he won two Emmy awards. Adorably, Bartlett, 91, played his real-life spouse on both series and is also a two-time Emmy winner.

The couple met while they were both studying at Northwestern University and wed in 1951. This June, they will celebrate 70 years of marriage.

In an interview with Forbes last December, the two revealed their favorite thing about each other after all of these years.

With a laugh, Bartlett chimed in, "He doesn't mean that at all!"

Added Daniels with a smile, "I'm an actor! I'm making it up as I go along."

[PracTz]

Mr. Daniels and Miss Bartlett sound like folks who would be worth knowing if one would have had reason to know them. I can't help but they also have thrived on a bit of banter with each other down the decades! Great article! Thanks for sharing this, TMC!

Oh, I should add that I've read his autobio and it's interesting that Mr. Daniels says that he's had HER manage their finances for the entirety of their marriage since she's always been good with bookkeeping while he's the one who has cooked meals for them and their family whenever possible- to show that they'd always followed their own drummers rather than did the traditional stereotypical roles in their marriage.

While the courtship and wedding of Mr. Feeny and Dean Bolander were rather interesting and entertaining to watch, it's too bad that BMW had no episodes depicting them interacting as a married couple (and that GMW stupidly didn't have her on any of the times they had him on [although they didn't treat his character on the latter show with the respect he deserved by any means ]).

[JO Sweet Heart]

I just read that his 70th anniversary is on June 30th of this year. I will be 39 on that day.

God bless you and him and his family always!!!

Holly