Hollywood golden couple William Daniels, 99, and Bonnie Bartlett, 97, seen months after speaking on ‘open marriage’
Hollywood golden couple William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett have enjoyed a year of celebrations, from their 75th wedding anniversary to a milestone birthday.
And the good times continued on Saturday as the couple headed to The Hollywood Show, an autograph and pop culture expo where they were scheduled to appear.
The couple were photographed seemingly headed to the convention in Burbank in the company of two assistants.
Daniels, 99, who is beloved for his role as Mr. Feeny on Boy Meets World, made his way to the convention by wheelchair while his accomplished wife, 97, appeared to be using a walker.
‘At 97- and 99-years young, Bonnie and Bill had a wonderful time meeting and greeting all their fans at The Hollywood Show,’ a representative for the couple told The Daily Mail about their appearance.
‘They loved signing autographs and taking pictures with everyone,’ the statement said, along with a reminder that authentic autographs and Cameos are available for purchase.
Hollywood golden couple Bonnie Bartlett and William Daniels were spotted near their appearance at The Hollywood Show, an autograph and pop culture expo where they were scheduled to appear
Daniels was guided to the convention on his wheelchair
Indeed, photos posted by Daniels on his Instagram show the couple looking as happy as can be as they met with devoted fans.
Daniels and Bartlett have been spending their time keeping up with their adoring fanbase with meet and greets and Cameo appearances.
But according to Daniels, Saturday’s event may be their final convention appearance.
‘Enjoying our time with everyone at @hollywoodshow1 on Saturday (likely our last convention!) but we’ll be back to cameos on Sunday, Monday, and always!’ the post was captioned.
Daniels and Bartlett have the distinction of being Hollywood’s most enduring marriage and in June, celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.
‘I wouldn’t be with anyone else in my life than this woman sitting next to me,’ the Boy Meets World star lovingly told the Daily Mail earlier this year before the anniversary.
‘It just happened,’ Bartlett said. ‘You don’t plan for it. You really don’t plan for it. I’m not at all romantic or anything like that. I’m a big believer in today, you know? And then all of the sudden it’s 75 years. It’s kind of amazing, I must say.
‘It is amazing, especially in our business.’
The couple have recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary and have the distinction of being Hollywood’s most enduring marriage; Above, on season five of St Elsewhere
Bonnie appeared to be using a walker as she made her way around
Bonnie and her husband have both acted together over the years, playing each other’s spouses in three different projects, including Boy Meets World, where their characters – Mr Feeny and Dean Bolander – wed
In a true boy-meets-girl moment, their love story began at Northwestern University in Illinois, when Daniels first laid eyes on Bartlett in the back of their classroom while she read from a play.
‘I’m very good at the heavy stuff, and so what happened was that he was listening, and he didn’t think that these actors were very good. And then he heard me,’ she said.
‘And I looked, and in the back of the room, there was this blonde, and I thought, “Oh my goodness. She looks interesting.” And so I waited for her as the class filed out. And as she passed me, I said, “How about a cup of coffee?” And she said, “You’re too short.”‘
Fortunately, Bartlett – who at the time was a half inch shorter than Daniels but is now slightly taller than him – overcame her initial apprehension after his height.
‘I didn’t mean it as an insult, I just meant, “oh, no, no, you’re too short, I’m too tall for you,”‘ she said. ‘And he said, “Oh, come on,” and we’ve been together ever since.’
They wed in 1951 and welcomed son William Jr in 1961, but he tragically died 24 hours after she gave birth. They went on to adopt two sons.
The couple have been enjoying their golden years meeting with fans at conventions
The couple appeared to be aided by two assistants for the outing
According to Daniels’ Instagram, Saturday may be their last time appearing at a convention
‘I wouldn’t be with anyone else in my life than this woman sitting next to me,’ the Boy Meets World star lovingly told the Daily Mail earlier this year of his wife
William is known for his role as the paternal teacher, Mr Feeny, above, with Ben Savage in 1993
Bartlett and Daniels have been open about the ups and downs they have had in their marriage
Like any relationship, their marriage has had its ups and downs with issues they candidly discussed in their memoirs.
Bartlett previously told Fox News that they had ‘a little bit of an open marriage’ shortly after tying the knot, one she described as being ‘very painful’.
When asked about the open marriage by the Daily Mail, she clarified they never had a specific discussion about an arrangement but said their lives ‘did go in different directions’ at times.
‘It’s funny, the press will pick up on something and make more of it than it was,’ she said. ‘There was never any discussion as to what we were going to do, but in 75 years, the two of you together, you know, it would be abnormal if you… weren’t attracted occasionally to other people,’ she said.
She admitted: ‘So there have been times, yeah, both of us, on both sides, yeah, and that is in the book,’ she said.
‘It was non-spoken. Bill and I never sit down and make rules. We never sit down and talk about these things. We just don’t. We just live our lives. And if he’s away for a year, he’s away for a year.’
‘Our lives just went on, but we never got unhinged…. We never got unhinged, but our lives did go in different directions occasionally.’
The couple played each other’s spouses in three different projects, including Boy Meets World, where their characters – Mr Feeny and Dean Bolander – wed.
It is a show that remains near and dear to his heart.
Nowadays, Daniels – who was also the voice of KITT in the TV series Knight Rider – is fulfilling Cameo requests from fans still eager to hear from their beloved Mr Feeny.
‘Birthdays, Mother’s Days, graduations, pep talks. He gets so many of those. You can tell that people have problems, you know, in life, and they write to Mr. Feeney to see if he can help him,’ Bartlett said.
‘They like to hear from him. I think it does help. They want them, he’ll give it, it’s great.’