Boy Meets World star William Daniels turns 99! Inside his record-setting 75-year marriage to famous wife

Bonnie Bartlett Daniels, now 96, is an actress as well, with a career that spans nearly seven decades. She made her screen debut in 1955 playing Vanessa “Van” Dale Raven Sterling in the soap opera Love of Life, a role she inhabited until 1959.

She then played the recurring character of Grace Snider Edwards on the show Little House on the Prairie for six seasons between 1974 and 1979, followed by acclaim for her run as Ellen Craig on St. Elsewhere. The show won her two Primetime Emmys in 1986 and 1987. Since then, she’s appeared several times on TV (and a few movies), with her most recent stint being two episodes of the show Better Call Saul in 2017.

William and Bonnie are true college sweethearts! The pair met at Northwestern University in the late 1940s, where they both studied acting. The actor recalled asking out the latter when they crossed paths, and they started dating soon after.

William and Bonnie tied the knot on June 30, 1951, almost 75 years ago today, and at least a year before either of them made their screen debut (William had already appeared on Broadway by the time he enrolled at Northwestern). The couple have acted together several times since then, most notably playing husband and wife on St. Elsewhere, Bonnie playing Mr. Feeny’s final love interest in Boy Meets World, and films like All Night Long (1981).

As of writing, Bill and Bonnie are currently the longest active Hollywood marriage. They also represent the third longest marriage in Hollywood history, only behind Irving Benson and Lillian Waldowsky (married for 79 years, 105 days) and Peggy Craven and Norman Lloyd (married for 75 years, 65 days). The second longest active Hollywood marriage is Arlene Weiss and Alan Alda’s, together for just over 69 years.

Their marriage also created a piece of Emmys history, when both won trophies for their performance in St. Elsewhere on the same night in 1986, the first time a married couple won individual Emmys on the same night since Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in 1965.

In 1961, Bonnie and William welcomed a son, who tragically passed away 24 hours later. They went on to adopt two boys. Michael, now 62, worked as an assistant director and stage manager, while Robert, now 60, built a career in art and graphic design. Both are now married and have two kids of their own each.