Bonnie Bartlett Meets World

Summary

Pod Meets World: Episode Summary – "Bonnie Bartlett Meets World"

Release Date: April 28, 2025

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Introduction

In this special episode of Pod Meets World, hosts Danielle Fishel and Ryder Strong sit down with the esteemed actress Bonnie Bartlett. Celebrating Bonnie’s illustrious career and her memorable role as Dean Lila Bolander in "Boy Meets World," the conversation delves deep into her journey in the entertainment industry, her experiences on the iconic show, and her personal reflections on acting and life.

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1. Bonnie Bartlett’s Early Beginnings

Bonnie Bartlett shares her passion for acting, tracing it back to her childhood influences and familial inspirations.

• Origin of Passion:
  Bonnie Bartlett [17:46]: "I was really born that way. I was imitating all of the Mae West and all those blondes... entertaining people with stories."

• Family Influence:
  Bonnie Bartlett [18:39]: "My father had been an actor. We watched plays together and listened to radio dramas. I was immersed in the world of acting from the start."

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2. Transition to Television and Notable Roles

Bonnie discusses her move from theater to television, highlighting significant milestones in her acting career.

• First TV Roles:
  Bonnie Bartlett [23:51]: "My first TV role was on Philco Playhouse. It was a nice part, having conversations with people on a bus."

• Soap Opera Experience:
  Bonnie Bartlett [26:38]: "I was on 'Love of Life' for three and a half years. It was demanding, but it provided financial stability."

• Breakthrough with "Little House on the Prairie":
  Bonnie Bartlett [26:54]: "Playing Grace Snyder Edwards was pure pleasure. The writing was extraordinary, and the cast was wonderful."

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3. Joining "Boy Meets World"

The conversation shifts to Bonnie’s involvement in "Boy Meets World," exploring how she became part of the beloved series.

• Invitation to the Show:
  Bonnie Bartlett [60:25]: "Michael Jacobs called me saying, 'Bonnie, would you come on the show?' I was delighted to join alongside Bill."

• Collaborating with Bill and Mr. Feeny:
  Bonnie Bartlett [61:51]: "Working with Bill, who played Mr. Feeny, was fantastic. His teasing was endearing, and we developed a strong on-screen chemistry."

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4. Reflections on Acting and Methodology

Bonnie delves into her acting philosophy, influenced by legendary figures and her own experiences.

• Studying with Lee Strasberg:
  Bonnie Bartlett [21:32]: "Studying with Lee Strasberg was transformative. He had an incredible ability to help actors discover their strengths and address their weaknesses."

• Character Development:
  Bonnie Bartlett [45:21]: "I love diving into a character's skin. It's about embodying someone else while staying true to your own humanity."

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5. Personal Life and Insights

Beyond her professional life, Bonnie opens up about her personal experiences and the balance between motherhood and acting.

• Balancing Career and Family:
  Bonnie Bartlett [28:15]: "Taking time off to focus on my children was the best decision. I cherished every moment with them and realized how precious family time is."

• Memoir Writing Experience:
  Bonnie Bartlett [68:10]: "Writing my memoir, 'Middle of the Rainbow,' was both painful and liberating. It allowed me to reflect deeply on my life and career."

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6. Legacy and Continued Impact

Bonnie discusses her lasting impact on fans and her views on the evolving landscape of television.

• Fan Interactions and Conventions:
  Bonnie Bartlett [65:19]: "Meeting new generations of fans at conventions is heartwarming. Seeing young people discover 'Boy Meets World' is truly rewarding."

• Views on Modern Acting:
  Bonnie Bartlett [47:08]: "Acting has evolved, but the core remains the same—connecting with the audience and bringing authenticity to every role."

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with heartfelt gratitude towards Bonnie Bartlett, celebrating her contributions to "Boy Meets World" and the broader entertainment industry. Danielle and Ryder express their excitement for upcoming conventions and Bonnie’s continued influence on both fans and fellow actors.

• Closing Remarks:
  Bonnie Bartlett [73:54]: "Thank you for having me. It’s been wonderful sharing my story with you all."

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Notable Quotes

1. On Acting Passion:
   Bonnie Bartlett [17:46]: "I was really born that way. I was imitating all of the Mae West and all those blondes... entertaining people with stories."

2. On Family Influence:
   Bonnie Bartlett [18:39]: "My father had been an actor. We watched plays together and listened to radio dramas. I was immersed in the world of acting from the start."

3. On "Love of Life" Experience:
   Bonnie Bartlett [26:38]: "I was on 'Love of Life' for three and a half years. It was demanding, but it provided financial stability."

4. On Joining "Boy Meets World":
   Bonnie Bartlett [60:25]: "Michael Jacobs called me saying, 'Bonnie, would you come on the show?' I was delighted to join alongside Bill."

5. On Writing Her Memoir:
   Bonnie Bartlett [68:10]: "Writing my memoir, 'Middle of the Rainbow,' was both painful and liberating. It allowed me to reflect deeply on my life and career."

---

Conclusion

"Bonnie Bartlett Meets World" offers an intimate look into the life of a seasoned actress whose work has left an indelible mark on television and theater. Through candid discussions and memorable anecdotes, listeners gain a deeper appreciation for Bonnie's dedication to her craft and her enduring legacy in the entertainment world.

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For those who haven’t listened to the episode, this summary provides a comprehensive overview of Bonnie Bartlett’s contributions and experiences, capturing the essence of her conversation with Danielle Fishel and Ryder Strong.

Transcript

[Danielle Fishel]

It's Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong and Will.

[Ryder Strong]

Friedle from Pod Meets World.

[Danielle Fishel]

Are you a small business owner launching a company or dreaming of starting one?

[Ryder Strong]

Then check out season three of Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories from Ruby Studios and Intuit QuickBooks. Join hosts Austin Hankwitz and Janice Torres as they talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their businesses.

[Danielle Fishel]

You don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys.

[Ryder Strong]

Listen to Mind the small business success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

Step into the world of Power, loyalty, and luck. I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. With family, cannolis and spins mean everything. Now you want to get mixed up in the family business. Introducing the [e-mail] test your luck in the shadowy world of the Godfather slot. Someday, I will call upon you to do a service for me. Play the Godfather [e-mail]. welcome to the family. No purchase necessary vgw group void where prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply.

[Ryder Strong]

I have a rant. I have a. I have a kids these days style rant.

[Danielle Fishel]

I love a parenting rant.

[Will Friedle]

Please.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay, actually.

[Ryder Strong]

Actually, this isn't a parent rant. Well, kind of.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, okay.

[Ryder Strong]

This is. This is my video game rant. I.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't play video games that much. Like, I never got into it. I played computer games when I was younger, but, like, console games, like, sitting down and, like, playing. And I realized, like, what I liked back in the day, like, the only times I really enjoyed console games were goldeneye Mario.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay, yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Mario Kart, of course.

[Danielle Fishel]

The Greatest.

[Ryder Strong]

And Street Fighter 2. And Blades of Steel was a hockey game. And what I realized is they were games you played as a group.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

Like, you sat together and you played.

[Danielle Fishel]

A game with one other person. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

These do not exist anymore. And I am so, like. And that's what I want to do with my son. Like, I don't want to play video games where, like, I'm watching him play a game or he's watching me play a game. And if you look online, you try and find games, there are literally only, like, 4 of what they call couch Co op or couch multiplayer games, Couch.

[Danielle Fishel]

Coplay, everything online with other people.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

That's the thing. It's like, now there's. There's multiplayer games you get to play with people, but they're all sitting on their own screens with their heads. And maybe that's like a fun social experience, but to me, it seems so isolating. So I am giving a shout out to. There's, like, one game designer who I've discovered who makes great couch games. His name is Joseph Fares. I don't know.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's like a guy. It's literally one guy.

[Ryder Strong]

And he has made the greatest games. He made this game called A Tale of Two Sons, and you get to play brothers and the whole point of his games and then made this game called It Takes Two, which Indy and I became obsessed with. You get to play in It Takes Two. You play two parents who your Daughter, you're getting a divorce, and your daughter cries over her dolls that her parents are getting a divorce. And the parents magically get transported into the dolls. And so then you play as the parents and the screen is split and you run around shrunken dolls and you have to try and get back to your daughter and like, of course you learn about your relationship. The horror game, no, it's incredible character development. It's hysterical. And then he has a new game that Indy and I are in the middle of playing and we are having so much fun. It's called Split Fiction. And again, you're two different characters. You're split and you have to work together. The gameplay keeps evolving every level, but it's just so much fun to be in a room together, laughing, experiencing a story. We have to help each other. So, like, if one of us is not like very good at the game, it like actually stops the game. So we have to like, learn patience. I have to like, you know, Indy will be like, dad, you're not doing it right. I'm like, hey, man, man, I'm maybe not as good at video games as you are. And like, we like, engage. It's a social experience. So shout out for these games. If you want to play games with your kid, I highly recommend, like, if you want to get into video games, do this, like, find a game where you actually sit next to each other and you play together because. And what's great is you're not fighting each other, you're not like shooting each other, like goldeneye. You know, you're actually just playing together and you're laughing and you're experiencing a story. These are really good games. The other one, I would say there's this game called Unraveled or actually Unraveled two, where you play two little yarn people and you just. It's the most calming, beautiful game. There's no dialogue, there's just beautiful music. And you're these little yarn people and you help each other swing, like from like trees. And you have to like go through this world, like swinging each other. And it is so soothing. And Indy and I have played this game like three times from start to finish because we'll just sit there and like laugh and like have these moments. It's so fun. So Couch Co Op games, highly recommend. I wish there were more of them.

[Danielle Fishel]

Because I think we're all played a great one when we were dating called A Way Out.

[Ryder Strong]

What's that?

[Danielle Fishel]

I don't know. It's a game where you are. Are you brothers in it. Jensen, are you just friends?

[Ryder Strong]

I think you're friends.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay, you're friends, but maybe you're in jail and you have to break out of jail together and it's the two of you up against everybody else. And it was. We had so much fun.

[Ryder Strong]

Amazing.

[Danielle Fishel]

So we beat it.

[Ryder Strong]

We played it for hours.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh yeah. We played it for a long time till we beat the game.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. There has to be like, there should be more games like that right now. You kind of experience a story together. It's so fun. Oh, also, Danielle, when we first started dating, my friend Justin, shout out to Justin and I stayed up all night long playing until dawn, which was that like horrible horror game that we loved.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

That's now about become a movie. But that was really fun too.

[Danielle Fishel]

So there's another one for you to check out right here.

[Ryder Strong]

It's too horror.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. So maybe. But a way out wasn't horror, but it is, you know, you're getting. You're breaking out of jail. There's a jailbreak and you know, it's. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Also writer. Did you finish Brothers? Because I don't want to tell you what happens. Oh, it's pretty tragic. No, I know.

[Will Friedle]

I did.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay. And Indy was like devastated. He was like emotional. He was like, he was like really sad about it. I'm like, oh, I didn't realize this game was going to get this emotional. But that's what I like about all the. Because also it takes two. You know, it's kind of grown up. But Indy, because you're a doll, but like, you know, it. I don't know, like, it, it's. It, it. It was a really cool way for him to get into a lot of sophisticated feelings. Like it was like, you know, we're just playing a game, but we also. He was like, oh, the parents are going to get back together and the daughter is sad because they're going to divorce. It was like we were able to like actually have conversations and it was. Man, it's so fun. Like. Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, this. We recently started playing a wrestling game with Adler. It's not. It' based game, but it is a game where two players. You don't have to play with two players. Like, he can play against the computer if he wants to, but it's a. It is a game where Jensen and Adler or Adler and I can play against each other.

[Ryder Strong]

What's it called? I want to play it. I want to play it.

[Danielle Fishel]

WWE 2K25. WWE 2K25. Okay. So.

[Ryder Strong]

And you get to play real wrestlers like real characters from.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes. Now that we are Wrestlemania X now he's going to have some expertise in it. I think he's really going to like it. We should also let all of our Dear Listeners know Mr. Will Friedle is not joining us for today's episode. He had a previous commitment he needed to do and so we, we are. We miss him, but it's. He probably would have been a good person to ask about video games today. Although I don't know that he plays modern games. Yeah, I don't think he does anymore. Welcome to Pod meets world. I'm Danielle Fishel.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm Radder Strong.

[Danielle Fishel]

And there's no seat 4C.

[Bonnie Bartlett]

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[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Bonnie Bartlett]

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[Danielle Fishel]

As a boy mom to a three and a five year old, I barely get a break. School drop offs, karate class, dressing my youngest as a superhero every day. It literally never ends. I can tell you firsthand your mom deserves something special this Mother's Day, and so do I. And that's where Pandora comes in. For my own mom, I'm looking to get her a bracelet, either with their iconic charms or something I can take her to get engraved in store at Pandora in my own handwriting. And whether it's shiny necklaces, earrings, or unique rings, it's the perfect time. And Pandora is the place to show your mom just how special she is. Visit Pandora in store or [e-mail] now this is what you do when you have high standards and fancy all the fancy things, like an iconic Dior saddlebag or that diamond tennis bracelet. You go to ebay.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

Vintage pearl necklace or brand new ruby earrings. A Prada crossbody bag to be besties with your other handbag. Even an eternally classic watch like that Rolex Oyster or that Cartier tank. You know the one.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Austin Hankwitz]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

Yes, Am I there?

[Danielle Fishel]

You're there, Bonnie.

[Will Friedle]

It's too much light. Or enough light. Can you see me?

[Danielle Fishel]

I can see you. You look fabulous as always.

[Will Friedle]

I'm young. Old.

[Danielle Fishel]

We're so sorry. Will is not here today. He had an appointment with his wife that he couldn't miss and so he's not joining us for this episode. It's just going to be Ryder and I today to talk with you.

[Will Friedle]

I got a note from Will's father. His he's done some legal work for me even in Connecticut. He got a lovely birthday bill birthday and nice to. His father's a lovely guy.

[Danielle Fishel]

Isn't he though?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I just saw him in Connecticut.

[Danielle Fishel]

The captain.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep. He's the best, so.

[Danielle Fishel]

Great. Well, Bonnie, we are so happy to have you back on our podcast, this time by yourself, so we can focus on only you for season six and the emergence of Dean Lila Bollinger. Right, so let's start with your origin story. When did you first find yourself wanting to be an actor?

[Will Friedle]

I think I was born that way. I think I was really born that way. I was imitating all of the. Mae west and all those blondes, you know, that were movies, and I was very busy imitating them and entertaining people with stories, you know, and stuff like that. And I. My father had been an actor. We just. We watched stuff together on. We listened rather on the radio to all the Lunts and Helen Hayes and all those wonderful people. And I was there from the start. I can't remember when I didn't want to be an actress, but I wanted to go to New York. I didn't want to be a movie actress. I wanted to be in New York. Oh, wow.

[Ryder Strong]

You wanted to do stage.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I wanted to be on the stage.

[Ryder Strong]

How did you find out you were any good? Did you get to do, like, theater in school?

[Will Friedle]

In school? Because I think it was in junior high school, the beginning of junior high school, and we had a little class of some kind, and. And I read from. I did I'm a Good Girl.

[Danielle Fishel]

I Am My Fair Lady.

[Will Friedle]

Yes. But the play. The play that it came from was. And I did the whole play for them and the class. It wasn't meant to be a performance. It turned out to be a performance. They all laughed. They loved it, and everybody. And I thought, oh, boy, this is neat. And then I started to do any play that was around.

[Danielle Fishel]

Was your father supportive of you following in his footsteps, or did he. Yeah. Did he warn you about all the hardships?

[Will Friedle]

Oh, I knew about all that. He. Yeah, I knew about all that. But. But he. He really wanted me to just be a wife and mother. He did. A teacher wanted me to be a teacher, and he didn't want me to go into the business and. But I did.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, you did it.

[Will Friedle]

Anyway, he didn't want me to go to New York when I was 18, so I went to Northwestern.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Which was good because that's where I met Bill.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes, right.

[Will Friedle]

And did a lot of wonderful plays there. And just.

[Ryder Strong]

Did you have to audition to get into Northwestern at Northwestern?

[Will Friedle]

Did you audition?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

That's when you had to audition. As a matter of fact, my freshman year. Well, first of all, we did a play where you did a Little workshop thing that everybody. The. The famous acting teacher said, wow, that's an actress. And then I got the lead at a play called Dark of the Moon, played Barbara Allen, and I won all the awards. And it was perfect part for me at that time. I was just. It was a great little show. So I won the Fresh. Even though I was a freshman, I won the acting award, which is very unusual.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

You know, Charlotte Ray was there and she. She was doing a wonderful thing and she said, ah, you beat me. You got the award. She was a senior and she always. Charlotte and I are good friends, but, I mean, she's gone now, but. But she always had a little bit of a space there because. Yeah, beater or something, you know. Yeah, we will be weird and all competitive, but good friends. Good friend. She was wonderful.

[Danielle Fishel]

When you moved to New York, you found yourself studying with the legendary Lee Strasberg when you moved. When you moved there. So for listeners who don't know about that method, what did you take away from studying with him?

[Will Friedle]

Well, I was with him for so long, and I was also his personal friends of the family and so forth. When I get away from him. Pro and con.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

In other words, he could be very destructive to an actor or he could be amazingly constructive. It depended how. I don't know what he was. He had an amazing ability to help you discover your problems as an actor and help people. It was very intuitive and very amazing. With Bill, Bill always says. Because Bill. I dragged him in too, later. And he always said, Strasberg said to me, I don't know what to do with you. I look at you and I don't know what to do with you. Let's find out who you are. And that was extremely helpful to Bill, who had all the. The early, you know, fake things that they teach little kids.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

He was performing, and so he learned to be very fake because that's what they did in those days. And so that even at Northwestern, he had. He still had some of that. He was a wonderful character actor, Bill at Northwestern, his best parts were old men. He was wonderful at that. But anyway, so Strasburger, I would say, helped Bill enormously in a very quick time. Very quick with me, I had to go through a lot of emotional problems. I had to go through. I was also in therapy at the same time. So they helped. The therapy and Lee. The therapy and Lee. It helped. Painful. Sometimes hurt. Hurting. He could hurt me, but he also was trying to help me get rid of a lot of problems that I had with My father and so forth.

[Ryder Strong]

Interesting.

[Danielle Fishel]

What was your first TV role? What was the first job you booked on tv?

[Will Friedle]

It was on a Philco playhouse. And I played the part. It was a nice part. And I remember I was on a bus and having conversations with people on a bus.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

And my whole family around the country turned into Philco that night. And that really good part that I had, I played a lot of little stuff. Filco, we had Robert Montgomery Presents. We had all those shows then. And I did a lot of little stuff on that. But that Filco was the first that. And then later I got a lead on a soap opera and that was too much work.

[Danielle Fishel]

Was that called Love of life in 1955?

[Will Friedle]

Love of life, wow.

[Ryder Strong]

Was that in New York or was that in la?

[Will Friedle]

New York, Yeah, New York. And it was very well paid and Bill wasn't making any money, so we. We could certainly use that money. It bought us an apartment and. But, you know, it's. No, it's not good acting. It's not acting. You don't have any time to perform.

[Danielle Fishel]

I was gonna say, how could. How could it be good when you're doing multiple episodes in a day or in a week?

[Will Friedle]

It's no good. You just do it, you know, and you. You get facile, very facile. And finally they brought in teleprompter. I couldn't use teleprompters. Only time I could use tele. If I had a telephone conversation, I could use the teleprompter. Okay, read it off there. And nobody would know.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

I can't do that. But some of the men that I worked with use teleprompters. I don't know how they did it, but, you know, they were. I don't know how they did it, but they did. And I guess it didn't. It wasn't bad.

[Ryder Strong]

So were you miserable the whole time you were doing the soap opera? Were you just like, waiting to get off of it?

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. I needed the money, but it doesn't. At that time, really good actors in theater like to be on a soap, but they didn't want to sign a contract, you know what I mean? That we would have wonderful actors who would come in to do a week, pick up some money. They would come in to pick up some money, but then they. Their theater was the main thing. So we had some. One especially character people, wonderful character people who would come on for a week or a little short timber. No contracts. See, I. And when I left the soap, I said, I'll do a soap. And I think I did a couple after that, but I said, no contract. No contract.

[Danielle Fishel]

So how many years were you on Love of Life?

[Will Friedle]

Three and a half. Three and a half. Too much. Too long.

[Danielle Fishel]

And then on a larger nighttime TV scale, you played Grace Snyder Edwards on the incredibly popular Little House on the Prairie.

[Will Friedle]

When I came to New York, but that's many years later.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

I didn't work because I had the two little boys. I did some theater. But when we came to New York, I mean, California, Bill's agents, because Bill was, by that time, he was working a lot, making all these interesting movies. And his agent sent me over to Michael and he said, it's just a general appointment. But as it turned out, he hired me that day he met me and he said, I've got a part for you and starts. And I did it in the next couple of days. Turned into Grace. She was not.

[Danielle Fishel]

She was never a Michael Landon you're talking about.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, yeah, Nice guy. Really nice guy. And. And he. He hired me for that. And I was always on the show. I never had a contract, which was fine with me, but I didn't know that that was a good thing in Hollywood. Yeah, I didn't know that it makes a difference in the money, but I was happy. I was so happy to do that show. I loved the part.

[Danielle Fishel]

And so what year was that that you. Because you said you had two small kids, I would love to talk to you about the decision you made and when it was. When did you have your first child? And, and, and what was that? You decided to take some time off from work and what was that like for you?

[Will Friedle]

It was the best time of my life. I just loved it. I didn't miss acting. I forgot that I was an actress. I didn't miss it at all. It was just two boys that, you know, I had lost a baby. And so maybe. Maybe that's why I treasured it more, because I lost a son right after birth and I'd had a hard time getting pregnant 10 years before I got pregnant the first time. And I said, the doctor said, oh, this was just a mistake and you'll get pregnant. I said, no, I won't. If I didn't get pregnant for 10 years, this is the first time it's not going to happen. I was in my mid-30s, and so I said, no. They said, well, wait. I said, I waited a little while and then we adopted. I always. I'm good at making the right choices, you know, when something happens and I knew I knew what I wanted and we got two wonderful boys and so.

[Danielle Fishel]

How long did you take off of work? And was it an adjustment for you?

[Will Friedle]

10 years. It was like I was in New York. I did a couple of little things. I ran down to do a show in Florida. Just overnight, that great actor Jackie Gleason, I went down, I did one of his shows quickly. And during the time when they were. I did a play. I went out to do Lanford Wilson's first play and it was with Charlie Durning and Chris Walken and they were marvelous. It was a wonderful experience, but I missed the kids. I would get on a bus and come home just to be able to get them up in the morning and off breakfast, get them off in the morning to school and then get on a bus back to Buffalo or wherever we were. We were out of town somewhere. And I said, and my son Rob, he hates me to tell this story, but I would come in and to their beds if they were just going to bed or. I said. He said, mama, where were you? I missed you, Mama, where did you go? Oh, that's all I needed. That's all I needed. And I stopped. I just stopped. And I spent time going to school with them and doing all the things at school. I practically lived at their schools. And Michael was very independent, even as a six year old, very independent in New York at that time, do you believe it? He could come out of the apartment, go downstairs, go across the street, take a bus down there, take another bus all the way to the east side, and then walk to school. You couldn't do that today. And he was great. He was a big boy too, so he was great. Very, very independent. But he. Now he loves la. He loves living here.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

So getting back to Little House on the Prairie, did you enjoy working on that show?

[Will Friedle]

It was pure pleasure. Oh, I mean, I have been so lucky that I have rare. Other than the soap opera, I have never been in a movie or play or anything that I didn't enjoy. And I liked all the people and it was just wonderful. I've been blessed, Blessed with wonderful directors. Just delightful, delightful. My career has been delightful.

[Danielle Fishel]

You have appeared on so many classic TV shows. Gunsmoke, the Patty Duke Show, Heart to Heart. Did it feel like you were making it in Hollywood? Were you able to think?

[Will Friedle]

I never thought of that. I never thought of. Of being. Nor did Bill. We just liked the work.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

You know, we didn't have a career. We wanted to work. We wanted to make enough money to send our Kids to school and things like that. We. There was no thought at that time. People went into the business just to work. I don't think they went into the business to become stars. That's not the reason for it. I think a lot, you know, a lot of people now kind of jump the gun. That's fine. That's the way the world is. Because everything changes, as we know. Everything changes. But we have really been blessed. We really have.

[Danielle Fishel]

So sweet.

[Ryder Strong]

But did you. Even when you. Even when you were winning Emmys for St. Elsewhere, you guys weren't like, oh, we've arrived. Like, we have definitely established.

[Will Friedle]

Never felt that, you know, winning an award is nice, but it doesn't get you anywhere really. Except that forever you will be described as an Emmy winning actor.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right, Right.

[Will Friedle]

You will be described as a. Or Oscar winning if it were an Oscar, you know. Yes. That comes with the territory. It's good on your resume. It is good on your resume, but it doesn't whip you into. There are a lot of people who've won Oscars who disappear, you know.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, as my. As writer mentioned, in 1982, you then booked the job of a lifetime Ellen Craig on St. Elsewhere, a role that would bring you two Emmy awards for best supporting actress in a drama series. Did you always know that that character was special?

[Will Friedle]

I knew that the show was special. I knew that the writing was extraordinary and I knew. They just brought me on to play with Bill for a brief moment and they picked up on it. And then they wrote and wrote and wrote for us. They all said that we reminded them of their parents in many ways. You know, so they. They kind of wrote that stuff and we just. It just flowed. It just came out. We. We never worked at it. We never rehearsed. There's a place where you didn't have to rehearse or very little. We never rehearsed at home or anything. He. He learns lines one way, I learned them another, you know, so that.

[Danielle Fishel]

How do you. How do you learn lines?

[Will Friedle]

I just learned them in a block. I learned to do that in the soap.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

I learned them on a block. Bill learns them and. And I might. I might change a little bit, and it's okay, you know, But I, But I learn it in a. In a block, a paragraph at a time almost. And he learns them by learning lines. He'd be out by the pool learning lines, and he had a lot of scientific stuff. Bill has always been a lawyer or a doctor, so he just learns them by going over them and learning them.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

That's what he does. I can learn them in my head.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

I don't. As a matter of fact, I don't like to go over them too much.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm very curious because, you know, my wife is an actor, and we met acting and. But we meet a lot of people who, you know, they couldn't imagine two actors being together. What was it like for you guys? Did you ever. Did you. I mean, you say you didn't learn lines together. Could you give each other notes? Could you give each other feedback?

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Each other? Very much. Not so much. Well, it was a play where she was very special. She was a very. Anyway, he came up and he watched a rehearsal. He said, where'd you get the funny voice? Well, I knew right then that's all he had to say. And I'm myself. In other words, I was imitating her.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Imitating the actress who had been done the play in the first place.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

Because I was out in stock. And that's all he had to say. Where'd you get the funny voice? And then I knew right away that I was on the wrong track.

[Ryder Strong]

I started off. I do this. My wife Alex, we do this all the time. And it's actually the voice is the main thing. When she is insecure about an audition. I can always tell because I'm like, what's. You're doing the voice thing. It's like she goes a little too high, and I'm like, you don't need to do that. Make it yours. And then she. And once, the second I say she's like, okay. And then it's a million times better. But it's like whenever she's just a little off, I am like, oh, it's.

[Will Friedle]

Your only the director. No, but I don't even know if.

[Ryder Strong]

Like, most people would know it as well, you know, but it's like, I know her so well, and I know exactly that tick. And I'm. I could just like, no, you're going up. You're going up. You're doing your thing. And then she's relaxes and it's.

[Will Friedle]

That's right. And I. I could say to Bill, you're. You're playing to the house. You're playing to the balcony. And then he would come down and he would bring it back.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yep.

[Will Friedle]

One time he was doing oh, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. And I went out to him to see him, and he said, what do you think? He said, it's like, you don't want to be on the stage. And that was true. He didn't want to be there with Kirk Douglas and the part he didn't like and he didn't like. And he, you know. So he immediately knew what I meant because he didn't want to be on the stage.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

But he didn't know that. So I said, it looks like you don't want to be on the stage.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow. And then he was like, you know, I'm not enjoying this.

[Ryder Strong]

Wow.

[Bonnie Bartlett]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danielle Fishel]

There were so many heavy hitters on St. Elsewhere. So much talent, so much success with something like that. Did you run into a lot of egos or does everyone kind of wrangle it in because they've got great material.

[Will Friedle]

I, Everybody wanted to be on the show. People would call the producer, very prominent actors would call the producer and say, please put me on the show. You know, try to find something for me. Because they all, everybody knew that it was so well written.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

It was so well produced. I mean, you know, and all these wonderful actors were on it. So what we had, Denzel was just a kind of beginning movie career. So he, he, he kind of had the job, but he, he was doing other things too. But he, it was a paycheck for him, you know, because he, he was always getting released to do a movie or something. And you know, the producer was wonderful with him, so. But yet it gave him a paycheck to raise his family. So let's see. I, I know. Oh, Betty White asked to be on the show. So they wrote something and she was very nervous, Just so nervous because it wasn't funny, you know, Betty. But she did a good job. But she said, I've never been so nervous in my life.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's so crazy.

[Will Friedle]

You know, Betty White. How could she be nervous?

[Danielle Fishel]

I know you'd think she there. Nothing would make her nervous.

[Will Friedle]

But after all she'd done.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I knew her in New York when she was doing live commercials and she was wonderful. And I think that's the hardest thing in the world to do.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Live commercial.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't even. What is a live commercial? What is that?

[Will Friedle]

A live commercial? It's with a spokesman and you just come on and you have a little.

[Danielle Fishel]

Like qvc, like QVC on live tv.

[Ryder Strong]

You'd be selling soap now.

[Will Friedle]

We film them. But I mean, you're, you're, you're pumping a product and you're talking and you talk for a minute or two or whatever it is. It's all you talking about the product and oh my God, it's the hardest thing in the world, I think.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Because you're not a character. You're.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

You know, but some people, Betty, Betty was great at that. But Betty could do that. She would go out to the audience, you know, and talk to them and all of that. And I had a friend, Georgia Ann Johnson, a wonderful actress who's no longer with us either, but she could do those. She made a lot of money in New York doing those long live commercials.

[Ryder Strong]

Hard.

[Will Friedle]

I was good at it. I had to do a couple in a woo. It was a challenge.

[Ryder Strong]

What, what, what are you really good at? What has always been like your specialty? Is there a certain type of Role.

[Will Friedle]

Being a good character. I'm a character actress.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I go into it. The whole point is not to be me. You have to learn how to. Well, that's what Strasbourg is all about. You learn. You have to be you, but you want to be somebody else. But you have to be you first.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

And. And then you take on all the other character things. But don't you have to have you like you talk to your. To your wife?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. You have to find it. You have to make it your version of humanity.

[Will Friedle]

Your humanity has to be there.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

You know, no matter what the character is. But for me, I love see. Jumping into another person's skin. I love that.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I never wanted to be, you know. What, a star. A movie star? No, that, that Even though I used to imitate them all and I loved them all. I mean, girls, Jean Harlow, people like that. I don't even. You don't even know the names. But I would imitate all, you know, very sexy stuff. Come out and see me sometime. You know, when I was a little girl. Come out and see me sometime. I would imitate them all because that.

[Ryder Strong]

You were. You were also part of a generation that really shifted acting. I mean, like, from what. From those movie stars that you were imitating. That, you know, they were, they were doing very different things than what you, you, your generation started doing, especially in like the 60s and 70s. Like, I feel like. I mean, were you aware of what was happening and did you feel like, were you proud of what you were doing and able to see these other actors around you making conscious choices and changing the way actors act?

[Will Friedle]

Yes, I think I learned from all of the wonderful actors. One of the first play I saw in New York was Julie Harris in Member of the Wedding. That was a great lesson in acting because she was playing a 14 year old girl. But it was Julie, you know, and she was wonderful. And everything that she would do after that was anything I saw her in. I thought she was wonderful. Oh, of course, the greatest of all is UTA Hagen. I mean, you could. Of course she taught. I never studied with her. I'm sorry, I didn't, but I never did. But she. I can't tell you how many amazing performances she did. Totally different, totally different. In one play she would be the quiet wife, but she was so strong on the stage that she was always thinking and you read her thoughts. Right.

[Ryder Strong]

She did Virginia Woolf. Right. She was the first who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Wasn't she?

[Will Friedle]

She was what?

[Ryder Strong]

Wasn't she in who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. She was the first.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, great.

[Ryder Strong]

She originated it. Right, right.

[Will Friedle]

But that's totally. Yeah, that's the. Yeah, she was absolutely superb. Yeah, really superb. I mean, I don't mean to disparage it, but if you see Elizabeth Taylor in that part is nothing compared to.

[Ryder Strong]

What she was doing on stage. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

To the play. I mean, she was good. She did a good job.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

For her. She did a good job, but none of the depth. UTA Hagen was superb actress.

[Danielle Fishel]

Our audience will also recognize you as Mary Ann Benedict in the movie Twins. You played the mother of Julius and Vincent, the mother of unlikely twins played by Arnold schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. Please tell us everything you remember about working with the two of them.

[Will Friedle]

Well, they were darling, both of them, in different ways. I liked Arnold a lot. Very smart guy. Smart guy. And at one point I said. I looked at him and I said, you know, I could be your mother. I could be your mother. He said, my mother. My lover.

[Danielle Fishel]

The flirtation.

[Will Friedle]

Very flirtatious. And Danny, I knew, of course, from a lot of television that. So I sort of knew about him. But when I went to the reading and I saw this guy in clothes that didn't fit him, they were bursting out. What is this all about? I don't want to do this movie. And I made a huge mistake, almost left the movie, but my agent made me go to see the director and. And he said, well, what do you. What. What's the matter? What. What don't you like about this? I said, well. And I went through the whole thing and I said, there should be something here, so there should be something. And then if she could do it. And then he said, well, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do, Bonnie. I can't make you do this movie, but I'm gonna use all of your suggestions. I want you to know that. Wow. How do you leave that? You don't. You stay, right?

[Danielle Fishel]

You stay.

[Will Friedle]

I don't know what ever got into me. I just. I didn't realize the. I probably am not that good at comedy. So I didn't realize the. How good this could be. I didn't realize it at all. And I was very surprised. And after I went to a screening afterwards, and Arnold was there with his wife, who was Kennedy, and I said to her, aren't you proud of him? And she said, oh, yes. You know. He said, should I go to New York and study and be an actor? I said, no, no instincts for an actor. Just do what you're going on. Right track so don't worry about it. She's, don't, don't, don't worry about being a theater actor. You don't want to do that. Right.

[Danielle Fishel]

And others will remember you as Barbara Thorndike on the Golden Girls.

[Will Friedle]

That was so much fun. You know, people, that was a little part that I took that I thought, oh, it has been amazing, people.

[Danielle Fishel]

I know it's only. You only appeared in one episode, but it is a fan favorite.

[Will Friedle]

It is. And it's because I was such a nice, I was like such a terrible. I, I, I, that was my mother. I based that whole character on my mother. I played that, you know, and not thinking that this is a terrible person at all. You know what she was. She would smile and say something like that. Smile and say, well, I'm so sorry you can't come.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, she would do that. She could do that in a minute. Be anti Semitic, but be very sweet about it. She'd be very sweet about it.

[Danielle Fishel]

After you did that role, did anybody ever mistake you for that character? Did you ever feel like people would meet you and then think of you as kind of being a villain?

[Will Friedle]

I don't think so.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

I don't think so. But I was surprised at how it's the most watched of the Golden Girls shows.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, it's a real fan favorite.

[Will Friedle]

It's a fan favorite. I'm delighted. But I was surprised. Yes. I was surprised when I went out to the. I had been on St. Elsewhere, so I went. The beginning of the show went up. The audience and the audience, oh, there's Ellen Craig. You know, Outward Lady Ellen Craig. And then after the show, and I walked out and they booed.

[Ryder Strong]

You knew you'd got them. That's great.

[Will Friedle]

And I thought, oh, Bill said, don't. If you want to play anti Semitic characters, that's what you're going to get.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes. Wow, that's so cool.

[Will Friedle]

Cool. It's great. It's great that the audience is so persisted. Really. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

You got them.

[Will Friedle]

Bill always says that the audiences will tell you what you got.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. So that's like you guys and you guys and Mr. Feeny. That's why you guys have this huge audience. And it goes on and on because it's the audience that tells you.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

What they like and what the show is.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Fortunate. You're fortunate as we have been.

[Danielle Fishel]

We're. We really are. Do you remember any roles you almost got and then were so bummed about? Like, any movies or TV shows that feel like the ones that got Away.

[Will Friedle]

Well, there was a play. Gonna not remember the name, but there was a play in New York that I was up for and I thought I got. And they. Faye Dunaway ended up doing it and it took her to Hollywood and it was a part I surely did want. And she was wonderful. And I didn't get to do it. So that was one. And then there was a time when I was asked to do a play, Edward Albee play. And it was in stock somewhere and I wanted to do it very much. It was the wife in one of the plays, very complicated part. And I wanted so much to try that. But a television show came up where it was a lot of money, and so I decided not to do it. I've always regretted that. They said you can come in a little late. You could come in a few days late, but I thought, no, no, I need that rehearsal to do that. You just don't walk into an Edward play and you gotta rehearsal. You can't just walk through that. And I. But I've always regretted it. I wish I had done that. I mean, we were out here and the boys were fine. I could have. It was just a mistake that I made in favor of money. Really. Television, where I should not have taken that television. I should have gone and done the play.

[Danielle Fishel]

Better for me, right?

[Will Friedle]

For me and my creative pursuit. I never got to play that part. And it's a perfect part for me to tackle.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

There you go.

[Bonnie Bartlett]

Does this podcast make you happy? Of course it does. That's why you're here. But it only comes out once a week for happiness. Every night. You need Adam and Eve.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes.

[Bonnie Bartlett]

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[Danielle Fishel]

As a boy mom to a 3 and a 5 year old, I barely get a break. School drop offs, karate class, dressing my youngest as a superhero every day. It literally never ends. I can tell you firsthand your mom deserves something special this Mother's Day. And so do I. And that's where Pandora comes in. For my own mom, I'm looking to get her a bracelet, either with their iconic charms or something I can take her to get engraved in store at Pandora in my own handwriting. And whether it's shiny necklaces, earrings or unique rings, it's the perfect time. And Pandora is the place to show your mom just how special she is. Visit Pandora in store or [e-mail] now this is what you do when you have high standards and fancy all the fancy things like an iconic Dior saddlebag or that diamond tennis bracelet, you go to ebay.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danielle Fishel]

Well, let's talk boy meets world a little bit. Obviously, Bill was on the show since moment one playing our Mr. Feeny. And we know Michael broached the idea with him about having you join the show. And obviously we all had already known you. Did you have any reservations about joining the cast?

[Will Friedle]

I don't think he did broach it to Bill. Oh, no. I think he called me. Michael Jacobs called me and said, bonnie, would you come on the show? It'll be your regular salary and come on the show with Bill and all, you know. And I said, of course, I'd love to. And then they made the arrangements. And if Bill knew anything, you know, Bill never knows anything that's going on. He really never does. He never knows what's going on on the set or people. I know everything. But so he said, would you, you know, and that was the way. And they brought me on the show and I think probably because I guess. Did he know it was the last season? I'm not sure if he knew it was the last season.

[Danielle Fishel]

It wasn't the last season. It was season. You were came in in season six and we did season seven.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. All right. So then he didn't know. I guess he just wanted to bring Bill a friend.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

So he thought, well, let's bring Paulie.

[Danielle Fishel]

He brought you in for one episode in season five, but then you had the recurring role in season six.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Danielle Fishel]

Where you spent four episodes with us. Did you have any reservations joining it or was it just like.

[Will Friedle]

No, except I, I, I wasn't, I, I wasn't as comfortable in sitcoms as I was in drama. So I did have a I. But I, I knew if I worked with Bill, it would be okay. You know what I mean?

[Danielle Fishel]

Was it ever difficult to work with Bill if you guys Wow.

[Will Friedle]

I love. And he loved. He teased me in front of the set, everybody, and I love it. I didn't mind it at all because I knew what it came from. But he loves to tease, and that's what he likes me running because he can't tease another actress.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right, Right. Only you. Did you like performing in front of a live studio audience? Having grown up with theater, you're used to. You're used to it. Did you like it in the sitcoms?

[Will Friedle]

I'm nervous. I'm a nervous actor on stage. I'm nervous when I go on and Until I feel comfortable. And so it was. Yeah, that's a challenge for me. Let me put it that way. I learned when I went on with Home Improvement, the first show I did, I was a wreck. I was a wreck. And Tim and Pat were wonderful, but I was a wreck. But. And then I was on that show about six or seven times by the end of the time I was on it. I was just getting to know how to do it.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

You know, so that I was very pleased. The last show that I was on, I thought, there, now, that's it. You're there. Because I was at the right level, you know, for the comedy. Reality and comedy. I mean, I was able to do that. Do you know? Do you know what I mean?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes, absolutely.

[Ryder Strong]

It's a weird. It's a tough needle to thread because you have to bring energy. You have to bring. You know, you have to get the laughs, but you also don't want to be just a schneck, you know, you have to find the reality in it. Yeah. It's very hard.

[Will Friedle]

And I remember one time that Tim said, look, you do this and you do that and you say that and you tell them the kids are there. And I said, right in the show, he said. And I said, I can't do that. That's sick. He said, just do it.

[Danielle Fishel]

And I.

[Will Friedle]

Big laughs. And he said, now, didn't that feel good?

[Ryder Strong]

Yep.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I said, yes, you know, because. But I don't. I don't know how to originate. I just did what he told me to do.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

And he knew it was a funny thing, and there you go. And Michael Jacobs is the same. He knows where the laughs are, and he wants to make sure that you do it so you get the laugh.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep. Sometimes it's just. It's just music. Sometimes it's like you have to have the rhythm and. Yeah. It tells the audience that it's funny. And they know. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, we have been to a Lot of conventions with you and Bill. And so many people are pleasantly surprised to find out that the dean really is married to Mr. Feeney. And I think it's because a whole, like, new generation of people are discovering the show, you know, and you guys had such long careers before, but for the new 13, 14, 15 year olds who are coming to it now, to them, it's all new boy meets world.

[Will Friedle]

Mr. Feeney.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

For Bill. Yeah. It's all. It's all about. I mean, he. And we are gonna do it. We're gonna be doing a convention with you, I think, in Long Beach.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

End of August.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. So we'll see you guys. He misses everybody, you know, he really misses everybody.

[Danielle Fishel]

We miss you guys.

[Will Friedle]

You know, he. He's never been attached as much to a group. You know, he stayed elsewhere. Everybody was. Went their own way. You know what I mean? He's never been as. But he feels attached to you guys.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, we've definitely come a long way with him. He's seen us through. You guys have seen us through lots of different stages of life.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Yes. And he really loves you all. And. And of course, it's been very lucrative. And we have a store, online store, very successful so far, and it's called the Bill and Bonnie. Billandbonnydaniels.com Great online store. We sell all kinds of things. Poor Bill. I make him sign books. The books are going like crazy, and they were out of print. We had to have them make more books and.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wonderful.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it's been very successful, and it gives my son something to do. And I wanted that. I wanted people to still be able to get stuff from Bill.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes. Billandbonnydaniels.com just to promote it one more time, But I also want to talk about some of your modern work because it is also incredibly impressive. You have been on Parks and Rec, Better Call Saul, Key and Peel, and they are all such great shows. Do you and Bill still watch TV together? And do you have any current favorites?

[Will Friedle]

Do you know what Bill watches?

[Danielle Fishel]

What?

[Will Friedle]

Every night. Seinfeld.

[Danielle Fishel]

Really?

[Will Friedle]

Seinfeld. And he sits there and loves it because it's all physical comedy, you know, I mean, he. He loves that.

[Ryder Strong]

He loves to watch.

[Will Friedle]

He thinks that girl he thinks is the funniest thing he ever saw. She is, you know.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

He just thinks she's great. And he always said if you're. If you're. If you're a pretty girl, pretty actress and are funny, he says that's golden. That's golden. You know, a Pretty girl who can be funny. Barbara Harris, you know, that was his idea of a Superb comedian.

[Danielle Fishel]

In 2023, you released your memoir, Middle of the Rainbow. How a Wife, Mother and Daughter Managed to Find Herself and Win Two Emmys. It's a wonderful book. Did you enjoy the process of writing?

[Will Friedle]

It was painful. The writing was hard. When I did the audio, I loved it. I loved doing the audio because I was acting, I was performing. But to actually bring up all this. I had a very good friend who helped edit it and helped me with it, Lauren Lester, and. And he said, put it all out there. Just write and write and write and write and write. Everything. You remember everything, everything.

[Danielle Fishel]

So, gosh, brings up a lot.

[Will Friedle]

It brings up a lot that Ingrid Bergman said, the best thing you can do for a long life is to have a poor memory.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

But not, you know, which is kind of an interesting way of putting it, you know, and that's Bill. That's Bill. He remembers nothing. But I remember everything, which is great if you're writing a book.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right? Exactly. It helps.

[Will Friedle]

Then, you know, you got to put it all out there. You can't just put out pieces. You gotta write it all. That's me. That's my approach to life, period. You know, you gotta. If you're gonna do it, you gotta put it all out there.

[Danielle Fishel]

You faced a little of what we face on this podcast quite a bit, which is the clickbait headline. You had tons of interesting stories, hundreds of pages in your memoir, but everyone seemed to want to focus on one small moment in the 70s where you and Bill tested the idea of an open marriage. Were you surprised by that reaction? And do you have any regrets with anything you shared?

[Will Friedle]

I was very surprised.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I was very surprised because, you know, it was at a time in New York when everything was open, everything, you know, I mean, it was a wild time.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

And not that happy a time, but it was a wild time.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I don't think it made anybody happy. And then what stopped it all was aids. All of a sudden there was aids, and all that action stopped.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

You know, but, yeah, I didn't not like it, and I didn't like it. And I was very happy when it was over.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

I was very happy. I was much more comfortable when you.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wrote about it in the book. And then that seemed to be the thing that people were focusing on the most. Did you have any regrets sharing so much? A little bit.

[Will Friedle]

A little bit, Yeah. I thought. Oh, I didn't think everybody would. I didn't think everybody would take it so seriously, because I was part of a whole group of people, and they wouldn't have taken it. Things have changed. Yeah, things always do change. And then Covid changes everybody. I mean, you know, things. Whole things now have changed, and God knows what will happen now. Those little things that I wrote about in the book, that's nothing. That's nothing. That's just a long marriage, two actors in a position. If we were somewhere else, we wouldn't have behaved that way. It's just you behave the way you're allowed to behave, you know, and it was part of the. Part of the routine. It was routine.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, we know our audience, and really the entire world recently celebrated Bill's 98th birthday recently. And I know everyone, including us, would love an update. How is Bill doing?

[Will Friedle]

Well, as I told you, he watches Seinfeld, so he reads his New York Times, and he's at a place where he's never remembered things. So that's always been there, but now it's more. He's very forgetful. He will forget people. He had a very close friend who just died, and he can't cope with that. He said, I can't believe it. I can't believe he's no longer here. He was a guy that. He helped him a lot when he was the president of sag, and. And he. That all the deaths are hard for him, and most of them are men.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And his men friends are all gone, so that's very hard for him.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

So. But he just went out this morning for breakfast with a guy who was a friend from Saga, you know, helped him there. He got very close to a lot of people at sag. He had a lot of enemies, and it was very hard because he had a lot of enemies. But he also made some very close buddies. Just friends, not actors, just, you know, commercial people. Not. Not in his field necessarily at all.

[Ryder Strong]

Interesting. Yeah, interesting.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, Bonnie, we love seeing you every time. I'm very excited that we get to see you at the end of August. Thank you for coming. Yes. And thank you for coming and spending a whole hour of your time with us. It was so great. As much as we love Bill, it's so nice to have an entire hour dedicated to you and your accomplishments and all of the contributions you've made to the field of entertainment and to our lives and to Boy Meets World. So on behalf of our entire audience, thank you so much for spending your time with us.

[Will Friedle]

Thank you. You're so dear. You're so dear. I thank you so much. Well, thank you.

[Ryder Strong]

So good to see you.

[Danielle Fishel]

Thank you, Bonnie.

[Ryder Strong]

Great to see you, too.

[Danielle Fishel]

We'll see you in a couple months.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. Good.

[Danielle Fishel]

Bye.

[Will Friedle]

Bye.

[Danielle Fishel]

Always so great talking to her.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. I, you know, one of my. One of my friends, David Pressman, his. His dad, Lawrence Pressman, is older actor who knew them back in the theater days. And he's. He's younger than them by about 10 or 15 years. And so we have these lunches where he tells. You know, we just talk, talk about those days. And it's the same thing. It's like these names. I'm like, yeah. Barbara Harris. What? UTA Hagen. What? And I'm, you know, I'm learning, like, I'm. I feel just from these conversations, because there are these, you know, that. Who they consider legends were, like, theater actors that we just don't remember, we don't hear about, you know, and they're, they're, they're, they're not. We don't have them on film. We don't have, you know. So, like, I went and saw who's Afraid of Virginia Wool? With Larry, and afterwards he was like, oh, no, UTA Hagen. You have to. You know, and it was like. I'm like, where is it? He's like, I think there might be an audio recording, but he saw it three times with her. You know, you just have these conversations. And I love hearing about. About Bill and Bonnie back in those days.

[Danielle Fishel]

Me, too. I love. Anytime we're with them and they tell us those stories, it's always so fascinating.

[Ryder Strong]

Everybody was a drunk. That's what I love. Like, every one of the stories is like, yeah. Oh, Bill was doing this play with so and so. He was a horrible drunk. Horrible. I'm like, Bunny, Was there anybody who was not drinking? She's like, well, it was theater. It was how you survived, you know?

[Danielle Fishel]

And it is really interesting. I did think it's so funny that, like, for us who grew up doing tv, and I know you, obviously, you started in theater, too, but, like, when we talk about projects that we missed out on or whatever, we always think of movies and tv. And anytime you talk to Bill or Bonnie about their careers, theater, theater, the role, the parts in theater, the stories of the theater, like, it was the.

[Ryder Strong]

Thing that's the actor's medium. It's like the ultimate. Yeah. I mean, even when we asked her about her book, it was like when she got to read it, when she got to perform it, you know, it's like when you're that essentially an actor, it's like, it's just so cool.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, and her biggest regret being that she took a job she wanted. She wanted a TV job and it was good for the money, but she really wanted and what would have been good for her soul. She's like, I should have done it for me.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, so cool.

[Danielle Fishel]

So cool. Well, thank you all for joining us for this episode of Pod Meets World. As always, you can follow us on Instagram Pod Meets World show. You can send us your emails, podmeetsworldshowmail.com and writer we've got merch.

[Ryder Strong]

Moment of silence for the missing merchant.

[Danielle Fishel]

Podmeetsworldshow.Com writer send us out.

[Ryder Strong]

We love you all. Pod Dismissed Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fishel, Wilfred L And Ryder Strong, executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, executive in charge of production Danielle Romo, producer and editor Tara Sugbash, producer Matty Moore, engineer and Boy Meets World Superman Easton Allen, Arthur Theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon. Follow us on Instagram odmeatsworld show or email us at podmeatsworldshowmail.com.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Bonnie Bartlett]

Does this podcast make you happy? Of course it does. That's why you're here. But it only comes out once a week for happiness. Every night. You need Adam and Eve.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Bonnie Bartlett]

I'm talking about sex toys. It's cool. It's cool. You have earbuds in, right? Adam and Eve, America's most trusted source for adult products, has been making people very happy for over 50 years with thousands of toys for both men and women. Just go to AdamAndEve.com now and enter code IHEART for 50% off almost any one item, plus free discreet shipping. That's AdamAndEve.com code IHEART for 50 off.

[Danielle Fishel]

As a boy mom to a 3 and a 5 year old, I barely get a break. School drop offs, karate class, dressing my youngest as a superhero every day. It literally never ends. I can tell you firsthand your mom deserves something special this Mother's Day. And so do I. And that's where Pandora comes in. For my own mom, I'm looking to get her a bracelet, either with their iconic charms or something I can take her to get engraved in store at Pandora in my own handwriting. And whether it's shiny necklaces, earrings, or unique rings, it's the perfect time. And Pandora is the place to show your mom just how special she is. Visit Pandora in store or online at pandora. Net now.