- William Daniels is an Emmy-winning actor, known for his roles in ‘Boy Meets World’ and ‘The Graduate.’
- William Daniels and his wife Bonnie Bartlett have been married for over 70 years.
- The couple had three children, and many more grandchildren.
William Daniels is an incredibly versatile actor, who has starred in a wide variety of projects throughout his many years in showbiz. While he received widespread acclaim for his performances in the classic The Graduate or the Emmy-winning 80s TV series St. Elsewhere, William, 96, will always be remembered as Mr. George Feeny to a generation of 90s kids who grew up on Boy Meets World.
By his side through the many memorable moments in his career has been his wife Bonnie Bartlett, 94. An actress herself, William and Bonnie have been married since 1951, and they’re considered Hollywood’s longest-lasting active marriage. From their over 70 years together, William and Bonnie have had three sons, and they have many more grandchildren. Find out more about their kids and grandkids here!
William’s kids
William Daniels Jr.
While William and Bonnie have a beautiful extended family and two beautiful sons, their family did have some tragedy early on. Their first son William Jr. was born in 1961, but he sadly died 24 hours later, according to Page Six.
Michael Daniels
A few years after the death of their first son, William and Bonnie became parents again when they adopted their son Michael, 59. Bonnie revealed that being a family in Hollywood helped them establish some normalcy and routines in a January 2023 interview with People. “Hollywood was really the saving grace for our marriage because once we got to Hollywood and we were here and living like a normal family and having weekends at home with our kids and doing things, it was totally different story,” she told the outlet, while opening up about their infidelities.
While William and Bonnie are pretty open about their life and relationship, their kids appear to be relatively private. While the couple occasionally share photos of their boys on social media and their grandkids, both sons appear to mostly stay out of the spotlight. William did share a throwback photo of both boys on Christmas in 1973 in December 2016. While he may not be in the spotlight like his dad, Michael is apparently alos in show business. He reportedly works in Los Angeles as an assistant director and stage manager, according to William’s Wikipedia page.
Robert Daniels
Two years after adopting Michael, the St. Elsewhere stars adopted their second son Robert Daniels, 57, in 1966. While the pair have mostly kept their family life out of the spotlight, Bonnie did reveal that they had a scary experience once during Robert’s childhood when he went missing at a beach, but thankfully, he was found quickly after. “I was paralyzed with fear. I didn’t know what to do,” she told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “It was horrible what I went through, the thought that I might never see him again. It’s a devastating thing for a parent.”
Like his brother, Robert appears to keep out of the spotlight. He reportedly lives in New York City and works as a computer graphics designer and an artist.
William’s Grandchildren
William and Bonnie have been very open about how close they are with their grandchildren and how in recent years they’ve put much of their focus on spending time with family. The Graduate star admitted that “love and family” are the two things that keep him going after all of these years in a 2021 interview with People.
Bonnie admitted that during the COVID pandemic, one of the most difficult things was not getting to spend as much time with their grandchildren. “The only thing is that we haven’t been able to see our kids in New York and we haven’t been able to see our grandchildren very much here,” she said in an interview with Solzy At The Movies.
Eliza
As Bonnie mentioned, the pair weren’t able to attend some events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including their granddaughter Eliza’s graduation from Haverford College. William did share a photo to congratulate her and wrote that he watched on Zoom. He also revealed that she got her degree in chemistry, and he even compared her to one of his most iconic characters. “Despite the pandemic, the Class of ’21 prevailed. Congratulations, Eliza! We love you and we know you’ll go on to do great things,” he wrote. “The Feeny in me is so proud!”
Grace
While he wasn’t able to fly to Pennsylvania for Eliza’s college graduation, William did get to attend his other granddaughter Grace’s high school graduation. He also revealed that she would begin her studies on the East Coast at New York University. “Feeling proud never ends with this family of mine. A huge congrats to my granddaughter Grace for graduating high school and heading off to NYU in the fall. I’ll try not to follow you there,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
The Boy Meets World star has also shared quite a few photos with Grace, including a “group selfie” taken in December 2020, as they had a “family pod” amid the COVID pandemic.
Grandson
Besides his two granddaughters, William and Bonnie are also proud grandparents to a grandson. While the actor hasn’t publicly shared his name on social media, he did congratulate him on his high school graduation in 2019. “Celebrating my grandson’s hard work. Off he goes! Congrats to all graduates this year – keep dreamin!” he wrote.