Most of us had that one teacher who just seemed to know things. The one who dropped life lessons disguised as pop quizzes. For a generation of '90s kids, that teacher was Mr. George Feeny, the sagacious, perpetually patient neighbor and educator from Boy Meets World.
And the man behind the wisdom, William Daniels, just hit a remarkable 99 years young. Let that satisfying number sink in. Ninety-nine. Which means he's seen a thing or two, and probably still has a few more lessons up his sleeve.
His former students — Danielle Fishel (Topanga), Will Friedle (Eric Matthews), and Rider Strong (Shawn Hunter) — who now host the Pod Meets World podcast, took to Instagram to celebrate. They called him an icon, a role model on and off-screen, and thanked him for his leadership. Because apparently, even fictional teachers continue to teach long after the bell rings.
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Start Your News DetoxFans, naturally, swarmed the comments with tributes like "Best teacher ever on television." Daniels himself, proving he's still very much with the times (and the internet), posted a video on March 30th.
In it, he declared himself "alive and kicking" and, perhaps most delightfully, announced he's available for Cameo messages. So, yes, you can still get a personalized dose of Feeny wisdom, almost three decades after he first told Cory Matthews to "Dream. Try. Do good."
Here’s to many more birthdays for a man who taught us that sometimes, the best advice comes from the guy next door, preferably through a fence.
