ACTOR
William Daniels
40 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (40)
- #001
William Daniels played John Adams in the original Broadway stage version of "1776" and reprised the role in the 1776 (1972) film.
- #002
Daniels recorded his lines as K.I.T.T. on Knight Rider (1982) during his days off from St. Elsewhere (1982).
- #003
As a child, Daniels was part of the Daniels Family song-and-dance group, which traveled around and within New York State. His entire family appeared in one of the first experimental TV broadcasts in 1941.
- #004
Performing in both St. Elsewhere (1982) and Knight Rider (1982) in the 1980s, Daniels made goodwill visits to children's hospitals. He discovered that many children were not excited to meet an actor who played a doctor, but that his voicing of the talking car KITT always appealed to them, so he shifted the emphasis during his visits. He entertained the children with KITT-style sentences and answered their questions about "Knight Rider" while barely mentioning his other, bigger acting role.
- #005
Daniels played Dustin Hoffman's father in The Graduate (1967), but in reality he was only 10 years older than Hoffman.
- #006
On Boy Meets World (1993) he played George Feeny, the principal and teacher at John Adams High School. This is another John Adams connection for Daniels, who played him many times.
- #007
He knew Ed Begley Jr.'s family when Begley was very young, years before they acted together in St. Elsewhere (1982).
- #008
Producer Glen A. Larson asked Daniels whether he would read for the voice of a car in another series, Knight Rider (1982), before he acted in St. Elsewhere (1982). He resisted, recalling the famous failure My Mother the Car (1965), but Larson insisted it was not a car but a computer and persuaded Daniels to go to a small recording studio at Universal.
- #009
He has mostly played members of the famous Adams family of early American history. He played John Adams (in the feature film 1776 (1972), the miniseries The Rebels (1979) and the original play "1776," which opened on Broadway in March 1969), his son John Quincy Adams (in the miniseries The Adams Chronicles (1976)) and his cousin Samuel Adams (in the television miniseries The Bastard (1978)).
- #010
Before becoming a successful actor, he began his career in 1945 at the age of 18. He was drafted in Italy, where he served as a disc jockey at an Army radio station.
- #011
The characters played by Daniels and his real-life wife Bonnie Bartlett on Boy Meets World (1993) married each other in an episode of the series, just as they are married in real life.
- #012
He was nominated for a Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the lead role of John Adams in the 1969 musical "1776." At the time there was no star billing (that is, above the title), so he could not be nominated as a lead actor. Since Adams is clearly the lead in 1776 (1972), Daniels declined the nomination.
- #013
To be able to take on a wider range of roles, he took care to lose the Brooklyn accent he grew up with. The accent he adopted is close to the Boston dialect he used as Dr. Mark Craig on St. Elsewhere (1982) and Mr. George Feeny on Boy Meets World (1993).
- #014
In addition to playing John Adams in 1776 (1972), he played his son John Quincy Adams in The Adams Chronicles (1976).
- #015
Because of his popularity on St. Elsewhere (1982), Daniels was also invited to speak at medical school graduations, particularly at Northwestern, his alma mater. Since he was not a real doctor, he turned each of them down.
- #016
He and his wife, actress Bonnie Bartlett, won Emmys in 1982 for playing the married couple Dr. and Mrs. Mark Craig on the cult TV series St. Elsewhere (1982).
- #017
He began dancing at the age of 4.
- #018
In 1936, at nearly 9 years old, Daniels began performing on children's radio for the first time, together with one of his sisters.
- #019
William Daniels played the same character, George Feeny, in three different series: Boy Meets World (1993), Maybe This Time (1995) and Girl Meets World (2014).
- #020
He landed one of the lead roles, Dr. Mark Craig, on St. Elsewhere (1982) largely because of his long friendship with Bruce Paltrow and Paltrow's wife, Blythe Danner.
- #021
His classmates at Northwestern included Paul Lynde, Georgann Johnson and his future wife, Bonnie Bartlett.
- #022
As of 2018, he had appeared in three films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: A Thousand Clowns (1965), The Graduate (1967) and Reds (1981).
- #023
He graduated from Northwestern University in 1949.
- #024
He met Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner while working on 1776 (1972); a decade later, in 1982, he would work with them on St. Elsewhere (1982).
- #025
As an elected president of the Screen Actors Guild, he upset both the incumbent, Richard Masur, and the candidate Angel Tompkins, who combined the two names into "Angeltompkins" for herself and managed to place first on the ballot(!) The SAG president serves a two-year term.
- #026
His St. Elsewhere (1982) co-star Ed Begley Jr. was his exact opposite. Begley came from film, arrived late to work and struggled to learn his lines, while Daniels came from the theater and learned many of his lines.
- #027
He is best known to the public for his role as Dr. Mark Craig on St. Elsewhere (1982) and as George Feeny on Boy Meets World (1993) and Girl Meets World (2014).
- #028
He is a best friend of Ed Flanders and Norman Lloyd.
- #029
He does not live far from his former St. Elsewhere (1982) co-star Ed Begley Jr.
- #030
He met his future wife, Bonnie Bartlett, at Northwestern University.
- #031
He is a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.
- #032
On St. Elsewhere (1982) his character was originally from Boston, and in real life he had had a Boston accent since the age of 15.
- #033
His sister is Carol "Termite" Daniels, a child radio star in the 1940s.
- #034
He was born in an apartment that had no bathtub or shower.
- #035
He is the son of Irene (Bulger) and David Dryden Daniels.
- #036
On the set of St. Elsewhere (1982), Daniels, along with Ed Flanders and Norman Lloyd, had to pronounce medical terms using a medical dictionary. He also had to deliver a speech before an operation.
- #037
He has three sons: William Jr. (who died shortly after birth), Michael and Robert.
- #038
He is one of the few actors who kept working into his 80s and 90s without considering retirement.
- #039
William Daniels lives in Studio City, California.
- #040
William Daniels supported Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 United States presidential election.
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