Book 7
There I Go Again:
How I Came to Be Mr. Feeny, John Adams, Dr. Craig, KITT, & Many Others
By: William Daniels
Published 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61234-852-0
Approximately: 200 pages
Alright I fibbed again. I just couldn't get connected with the Making Meaning book when so many more books are sitting next to my chair I have more interest in. I actually finished this one before the month of March ended so I was ahead of my pace for about two days. I just never got around to writing my post.
For Book 7 I went back to one of my standby genres in Auto/Biography. Two of my favorite shows growing up were Knight Rider, when I was in my single digit years because of the talking car, and Boy Meets World, in my mid and late teen years as well as my early twenties. At the heart of both of those shows was the magnificent William Daniels. While many of my readers would surely recognize him as Mr. Feeny in Boy Meets World, many may not have realized he was also the voice of KITT the car in Knight Rider.
These two roles were more iconic for my generation. My parents generation may know Mr. Daniels as Dr. Mark Craig in the hospital drama, St. Elsewhere. Generations prior to us may have seen him in other roles on screen and stage. Additionally, this next generation will also have had the experience of Mr. Daniels genius in his cameos on the Boy Meets World revival called Girl Meets World where he reprised his role as mentor Mr. Feeny.
Mr. Daniels' book chronicles his entire journey through show business, the struggle of actors before the internet and YouTube could make you instantly famous on different mediums. How the rollercoaster of the life of an actor makes an impact on your personal life. He starts with his early years of being a child performer and chronicles all the way through his time on Girl Meets World.
Mr. Daniels takes the time to discuss the relationship he had with his mother and sister working in show business at an early age. How that has led him to understand the time, effort, and expectance of performing, sometimes even over education, could be considered a form a child abuse since it was being forced upon him and his sister by their mother. The individuals he has met through his work in show business. His work as a DJ in the military. How he was able to attend the theatre school at Northwestern. Meeting his, now, wife while there as both were, and continue to be, performers. The trials and tribulations of their relationship while both were working in the early years. The work he did during the commercials strike of 2000 as the President of the Screen Actors Guild. And how he has come to realize he "is a good actor."
It was very interesting reading Mr. Daniel's story. As I am starting to come to a crossroad in my life and career there were a few things that really spoke to me he discussed. While these pieces are out of order from his book I find them very relevant to my life right now. A piece Mr. Daniels discussed, I connected with was, "Don’t copy someone else’s performance, stick with what you’ve got-your own capabilities, your own instrument-and if you’re lucky enough not to be miscast (as I was in Tartuffe), you might come up with something presentable" (pg. 59). As I am looking at different opportunities available to me, in addition to my current ones, I think about my style and my skill set. While it can be adjusted, I have certain philosophies that some will agree with and some will agree to disagree. I can't try to sell something I'm not. That's not fair to me, nor is it fair to others around me thinking they are getting a great fit and I'm really not what they are looking for. Another piece of advice Mr. Daniels received was when writer could see what he could do, they would write parts specifically for him. I think that goes for many of us. As people see what we are passionate about, jobs, volunteer roles, etc., they may add or modify to our portfolios based on some of those interests.
Another piece I spent some time reflecting on I equated to my struggle to accept complements. I want those I work with to receive credit for anything positive or advancing what we do. When things go wrong I attempt to shoulder the struggle of the team. While that doesn't necessarily tend to work out long term, everyone assuming everything you do is a failure because you have set yourself up to be the regular scapegoat, I have found it has built trust among my teams. I think I look at compliments the same way Mr. Daniels looks at applause for a performance, "The applause simply meant I got it right, that the audience wasn’t disappointed. It didn’t fill me with a glow from all this 'love' pouring forth toward me and all that nonsense. It was just the end of another performance" (pg. 141). Through that, I feel like I will have the same sentiment about my career as Mr. Daniels has about his so many years in the making, "I’m finally at the point where I’m ready to proclaim it: I am an actor-a very good actor-and I am happy to know that I wound up where I evidently belonged. There’s something to be said for the recognition that comes with a job well done-and I’ll take that" (pg. 198).
I have to spend some time talking about Mr. Daniels as Mr. Feeny. As I have worked with a number of young professionals in my field, I hope I have been able to have an influence on them as Mr. Feeny has on not only the characters on Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World, but also Mr. Daniels on the the actors. He and I have said the same thing when young people consider our respective works, "Over the years I’ve frequently been asked if I have advise for young actors. And here’s what I’ve always said: Don’t do it" (pg 199). Ask some of those that call me a mentor, I've uttered those same words about being a fraternity/sorority advisor. It is hard work. It is long hours. It is heartbreaking. And it's rewarding. Mr. Daniels portrayed Mr. Feeny the way that he interpreted him and it translated through the screen.
"Mr. Feeny’s appeal was due to the fact that he was a friend, a mentor, and an advisor all rolled into one. In a stroke of creative genius Michael even made Mr. Feeny a neighbor. ... Feeny never “talked down” to the kids in the show, and the writing always assumed that the audience was intelligent enough to get the comedy. As the old saying goes “if you have to explain the joke, it isn’t funny” (pg. 171).
And I hope for my students the same thing Mr. Daniels had hoped for his young proteges as Mr. Feeny, "...a favorite Mr. Feeny slogan that has since gone “viral,” as they say: “Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Doo Good” (pg. 176).
While much of the book is centered around Mr. Daniels' life and career prior to my discovering him as Mr. Feeny, it is important for us to see where that inspiration comes from. It is also important to see the parallels that individuals can make to their own career progression as Mr. Daniels did. For us to finally say with confidence "I am good at what I do."
Citation:
Daniels, W. (2017). There I Go Again: How I Came to Be Mr. Feeny, John Adams, Dr. Craig, KITT, & Many Others. Lincoln, NE. Potomac Books.
Mr. Daniels takes the time to discuss the relationship he had with his mother and sister working in show business at an early age. How that has led him to understand the time, effort, and expectance of performing, sometimes even over education, could be considered a form a child abuse since it was being forced upon him and his sister by their mother. The individuals he has met through his work in show business. His work as a DJ in the military. How he was able to attend the theatre school at Northwestern. Meeting his, now, wife while there as both were, and continue to be, performers. The trials and tribulations of their relationship while both were working in the early years. The work he did during the commercials strike of 2000 as the President of the Screen Actors Guild. And how he has come to realize he "is a good actor."
It was very interesting reading Mr. Daniel's story. As I am starting to come to a crossroad in my life and career there were a few things that really spoke to me he discussed. While these pieces are out of order from his book I find them very relevant to my life right now. A piece Mr. Daniels discussed, I connected with was, "Don’t copy someone else’s performance, stick with what you’ve got-your own capabilities, your own instrument-and if you’re lucky enough not to be miscast (as I was in Tartuffe), you might come up with something presentable" (pg. 59). As I am looking at different opportunities available to me, in addition to my current ones, I think about my style and my skill set. While it can be adjusted, I have certain philosophies that some will agree with and some will agree to disagree. I can't try to sell something I'm not. That's not fair to me, nor is it fair to others around me thinking they are getting a great fit and I'm really not what they are looking for. Another piece of advice Mr. Daniels received was when writer could see what he could do, they would write parts specifically for him. I think that goes for many of us. As people see what we are passionate about, jobs, volunteer roles, etc., they may add or modify to our portfolios based on some of those interests.
Another piece I spent some time reflecting on I equated to my struggle to accept complements. I want those I work with to receive credit for anything positive or advancing what we do. When things go wrong I attempt to shoulder the struggle of the team. While that doesn't necessarily tend to work out long term, everyone assuming everything you do is a failure because you have set yourself up to be the regular scapegoat, I have found it has built trust among my teams. I think I look at compliments the same way Mr. Daniels looks at applause for a performance, "The applause simply meant I got it right, that the audience wasn’t disappointed. It didn’t fill me with a glow from all this 'love' pouring forth toward me and all that nonsense. It was just the end of another performance" (pg. 141). Through that, I feel like I will have the same sentiment about my career as Mr. Daniels has about his so many years in the making, "I’m finally at the point where I’m ready to proclaim it: I am an actor-a very good actor-and I am happy to know that I wound up where I evidently belonged. There’s something to be said for the recognition that comes with a job well done-and I’ll take that" (pg. 198).
I have to spend some time talking about Mr. Daniels as Mr. Feeny. As I have worked with a number of young professionals in my field, I hope I have been able to have an influence on them as Mr. Feeny has on not only the characters on Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World, but also Mr. Daniels on the the actors. He and I have said the same thing when young people consider our respective works, "Over the years I’ve frequently been asked if I have advise for young actors. And here’s what I’ve always said: Don’t do it" (pg 199). Ask some of those that call me a mentor, I've uttered those same words about being a fraternity/sorority advisor. It is hard work. It is long hours. It is heartbreaking. And it's rewarding. Mr. Daniels portrayed Mr. Feeny the way that he interpreted him and it translated through the screen.
"Mr. Feeny’s appeal was due to the fact that he was a friend, a mentor, and an advisor all rolled into one. In a stroke of creative genius Michael even made Mr. Feeny a neighbor. ... Feeny never “talked down” to the kids in the show, and the writing always assumed that the audience was intelligent enough to get the comedy. As the old saying goes “if you have to explain the joke, it isn’t funny” (pg. 171).
And I hope for my students the same thing Mr. Daniels had hoped for his young proteges as Mr. Feeny, "...a favorite Mr. Feeny slogan that has since gone “viral,” as they say: “Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Doo Good” (pg. 176).
While much of the book is centered around Mr. Daniels' life and career prior to my discovering him as Mr. Feeny, it is important for us to see where that inspiration comes from. It is also important to see the parallels that individuals can make to their own career progression as Mr. Daniels did. For us to finally say with confidence "I am good at what I do."
Citation:
Daniels, W. (2017). There I Go Again: How I Came to Be Mr. Feeny, John Adams, Dr. Craig, KITT, & Many Others. Lincoln, NE. Potomac Books.
Up Next
Quench Your Own Thirst
By Jim Koch
