Fans of the popular 1990s sitcom Boy Meets World were in shock on Thursday after they misinterpreted a social media post from one of the series’ most popular stars.
William Daniels, who is beloved for his role as the high school teacher Mr. Feeny on the show, nearly gave his fans a heart attack after he shared an Instagram post featuring a stock photo of himself from his Boy Meets World days.
Some fans who briefly glimpsed the photo of the 98-year-old entertainer instantly feared for the worst, worrying that it might be an announcement that the star had died.
But many sheepishly admitted that they had jumped to conclusions when they read the accompanying caption, which hilariously contrasted with their initial fears.
Rather than announcing somber news, Daniels — who is alive and well — was advertising that he was selling signed photos of himself at a discounted price for Boy Meets World superfans.
‘Something about this time of year always takes me back to one of my favorite roles as Mr. Feeny,‘ the post read. ‘Let’s celebrate this back-to-school season with 10% off all signed Feeny photos from our shop, now through September 15th!’
Fans of the popular 1990s sitcom Boy Meets World were in shock on Thursday after they misinterpreted a social media post from William Daniels, who played the high school teacher Mr. Feeny
Fans who didn’t read his caption sheepishly admitted they feared he might have died — but when they read the text they realized that the 98-year-old actor was alive and well and just offering them a discounted on signed photos of himself; pictured in 2022 in Burbank, Calif.
The photo resembled the kind of image of an actor in their glory days that might accompany an announcement that they had died, with Daniels looking smart in a dark sport coat and a purple patterned tie as he crossed his arms and grinned faintly at the camera.
In the comments on Daniels’ photo, fans admitted they were fooled by his photo in their haste.
‘Every f****n time a picture gets posted, I fear he passed,’ one user admitted.
Another fan posted a gif of Denzel Washington looking shocked and then relieved, while one fan admitted, ‘My heart skipped a beat.’
‘I hate the fact that every time I see these posts my heart drops 😂😂,’ another person wrote.
‘Dang we all really thought the same thing here didn’t we 💀,’ one poster joked.
Others jokingly took Daniels to task for giving them a fright. ‘You can’t keep scaring me like this,’ wrote one concerned fan.
‘BILL STOP DOING THAT!!’ wrote one user, while another added, ‘MR. FEENY!!! Don’t do that I thought you departed from us!’
In the comments on Daniels’ photo, fans admitted they were fooled by his photo in their haste
Others jokingly took Daniels to task for giving them a fright
‘No, you can’t be posting things like this. Damn near gave me a heart attack,’ wrote a formerly distraught fan.
Some fans even suggested that Daniels was fooling them for a laugh, including one user who wrote, ‘atp you do this on purpose.’
Daniels is best known today for Boy Meets World, which ran for seven seasons on ABC, from 1993 to 2000.
Ben Savage starred as Cory Matthews, whose awkward growing pains were followed from middle school through high school and college, while Will Friedle and Rider Strong played his close friends and Danielle Fishel appeared as his longtime love interest Topanga.
Daniels had a major supporting part as Cory’s neighbor and teacher George Feeny, who later became his high school principal and eventually took a job as a college professor.
He wasn’t just a teacher to Cory and his pals, but also a mentor at a time of rapid change for them.
Later in the series, Daniels’ real-life wife, the 96-year-old actress Bonnie Barlett, joined the series to play Mr. Feeny’s new wife.
Daniels returned to the franchise beginning in 2014 for several guest appearances on the 2014 sequel series Girl Meets World, which lasted for three seasons on the Disney Channel and starred Rowan Blanchard as Cory and Topanga’s daughter.
Some fans even suggested that Daniels was fooling them for a laugh, including one user who wrote, ‘atp you do this on purpose’
Daniels is best known today for Boy Meets World, which ran for seven seasons on ABC, from 1993 to 2000; pictured (L–R): Will Friedle, Betsy Randle, Lily Nicksay (front), Savage, William Russ (top), Daniels, Lee Norris, Rider Strong
He starred as Mr. Feeny, the longtime teacher and mentor to Cory Matthews (Ben Savage). He went from being Cory’s teacher to his high school principal and later his college professor; pictured in 1993
Daniels later made guest appearances on the 2014 sequel series Girl Meets World, which aired for three seasons; pictured in 1993 on Boy Meets World
Daniels has been a popular star on shows including St. Elsewhere, and he had major roles in film classic including The Graduate (1969), Two For The Road (1967) and 1776 (1972); pictured in 2019 in NYC with (L–R) Allison Harrell, his wife Bonnie Bartlett and Andre Mistier
Prior to his late-career stardom on Boy Meets World, Daniels was known for his Emmy-winning role as Mark Craig on the medical drama St. Elsewhere.
On film, he played Dustin Hoffman’s father in The Graduate (1969), despite Hoffman only being 10 years his junior.
Daniels also had a major comedic supporting part in the Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney–starring Two For The Road (1967).
One of his lead roles was as John Adams in the 1972 film adaptation of the popular historical musical 1776.
