William Daniels

Infobox Actor
name = William Daniels


imagesize = 200px
caption = Daniels at the Emmy Awards, September 20, 1987.
birthdate = birth date and age|1927|3|31
location = Brooklyn, New York, USA
emmyawards = Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series
1985 "St. Elsewhere"
1986 "St. Elsewhere"

William Daniels (born March 31, 1927) is an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild (from 1999 to 2001). He is known for his performances as John Adams in "1776", as Mr. Feeny in ABC's "Boy Meets World", the voice of KITT in "Knight Rider", and winning two Emmy Awards for the role of Dr. Mark Craig in "St. Elsewhere".

Biography

Daniels was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1949 where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. He has been married to actress and fellow Emmy Award-winner Bonnie Bartlett since June 30, 1951. They have two children.

Career

In 1969, Daniels starred as John Adams in the musical "1776", as well as appearing in the movie version in 1972. Two years later, he co-starred with Larry Hagman, Linda Blair and Mark Hamill in Richard Donner's telefilm "Sarah T...Portrait Of a Teenage Alcoholic." In 1976, Daniels portrayed eldest son John Quincy Adams in the acclaimed PBS miniseries "The Adams Chronicles" (George Grizzard played John Adams). He provided the voice of KITT in "Knight Rider" from 1982 to 1986, again in 1991 (He requested not to be credited for that work) again in the movie The Benchwarmers, and twice in The Simpson's episodes [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0200122/] . He appeared as acid-tongued (but well-meaning) Dr. Mark Craig in "St. Elsewhere" from 1982 to 1988, for which he won two Emmy awards. Daniels then portrayed the teacher George Feeny at John Adams High School in "Boy Meets World" from 1993 to 2000.

Awards

In 1986, both Daniels and his wife Bonnie Bartlett, who also played his fictional wife on "St. Elsewhere" and "Boy Meets World", won Emmy Awards on the same night, becoming the first married couple to accomplish the feat since Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in 1965. Lunt and Fontanne were the first to win Emmy Awards for a film, and Bartlett and Daniels were the first couple to win for a series.

Northwestern University's annual [http://www.wnur.org/broadway/awards/ William Daniels Awards] (the "Willies") honors the top performers, directors, choreographers, etc. in campus theatre productions throughout the year.

Work

* Daniels had a successful career as a stage actor; besides "1776", his Broadway credits include "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" and "A Little Night Music". He earned an Obie Award for "The Zoo Story" (1960). He has also appeared in several other films.
* Put in a memorable appearance in one episode of "Soap" as Heinrich Himmel, a german private investigator hired to investigate the murder of Peter Campbell. Benson decided to pick him up and sit him on their dessert.
* His motion picture debut was as a school principal in the 1963 anti-war drama "Ladybug Ladybug".
* The father of the character Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman in "The Graduate" in 1967, despite being only ten years older than Hoffman.
* An officious social worker who tries to strip the protagonist of the custody of his nephew in "A Thousand Clowns" (1965).
*"Captain Nice", a comedy TV series that ran from January-May 1967 on NBC. Riding the tide of the camp superhero craze of the 1960s, the show's premise involved police chemist Carter Nash, a mild-mannered mama's boy who discovered a secret formula that, when taken, transformed him into Captain Nice.
* A physician named John Bonifant in "Death In the Family", the second made-for-TV movie of the 1970s "Incredible Hulk" TV series.
* The voice of KITT in Knight Rider.
* Played Austin Tucker in the 1974 film The Parallax View, across from Warren Beatty.
* An episode of "The Rockford Files" as high-handed District Attorney Gary Bevins, who conducts a grand-jury hearing at which Jim Rockford is subpoenaed to testify.
* Norman, a radio executive attending a Halloween party with coworkers; he appears dressed as a clown for the party, and unwittingly picks up Cylon hitchhikers in the "Galactica 1980", episode "The Night the Cylons Landed".
* The voice of Scythe 2.0. in "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy", episode "Scythe 2.0.".
* The voice of a robot in an episode of "Kim Possible".
* Guest starred in an episode of "Scrubs". His appearance involved three other cast members from St. Elsewhere; they played hospitalized doctors.
* Howard Manchester in 1967's "Two for the Road".
* George Summers in the 1977 Carl Reiner film "Oh, God!".
* Arthur Spooner's nemesis, Philip Waldecott in "The King Of Queens".
* The un-named judge in the 2007 movie "".
* He played a skating commissioner in "Blades of Glory".
* A part in The Closer.
* A part in the TV series Quincy, M.E.
* The father of Richard Lestrange in The Blue Lagoon (1980 film)
* An average American suburban father in The President's Analyst
* Mr. George Feeny, Principal and Neighbour in Boy Meets World
* Judge Milton Brody, during the fifth season of Boston Legal

External links

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Persondata
NAME= Daniels, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= 1927-3-31
PLACE OF BIRTH= Brooklyn, New York, USA
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=