Trivia: Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle have admitted to having been uncomfortable with filming romantic scenes throughout the show and lamented not having an intimacy coach on set.
Trivia: Prior to being cast as Mr. Turner in season 2, Anthony Tyler Quinn was asked to read for the part of Alan when the cast of the show was first being filled out. Quinn previously worked with producer Michael Jacobs on a show called Black Sheep.
Trivia: Rider Strong towered over the other child actors when the show began. He was 5'8", but never grew another inch for the rest of the show.
Trivia: Will Friedle said he was approached by Michael Jacobs towards the end of season one and told that he was gaining too much weight, following the filming of a scene where he hops over a fence. He attributed this to having a case of Coke placed in his trailer every morning that would be gone by the end of the day. He proceeded to slim down ahead of filming for season two.
Trivia: Will Friedle once received a phone call from a Disney executive inquiring about a pair of black dress socks worn by Eric, to which he told them he didn't have them.
Trivia: Rider Strong kept the leather jacket worn by Shawn after the show ended. He says someone stole it out of his car a couple years later. A fan found a replica of the jacket, and it was presented to him at a fan event in Philadelphia. He ended up leaving it on the shuttle bus on his way to the airport after the event. He sarcastically feels owning such a jacket is a curse. He also claims to have stolen the painting that was in the college student union set.
Trivia: Stuart Minkus' name was originally Stuart Lempke. They had to change his name on short notice because through the legal process of name clearance, they discovered there was a real person named Stuart Lempke who also happened to be living in Philadelphia, where the show takes place. Rather than getting the man's permission to use his name or risk being sued by him, they opted to change the name.
Trivia: Rider Strong revealed that his hair had to be straightened for Shawn's signature hairstyle, as his hair is more wavy in real life. He also stated that he got the look when, ahead of auditioning for the Boy Meets World pilot, Marla Sokoloff, Larisa Oleynik and a couple other girls that lived in the same complex as him decided to "take over his hair," which he believes was to make him look similar to Christian Slater.
Trivia: According to the Pod Meets World podcast, it was thought that one of the reasons that Minkus was dropped from the show after season 1 was because ABC already had a hugely popular nerd character in their TGIF lineup with Steve Urkel, and they didn't want to have an Urkel 2.0. Minkus actor Lee Norris revealed he was in the room when the decision was made, and it was because they were going to age up the child characters closer to their actual ages, and his short stature was problematic.
Trivia: Boy Meets World shared a filming studio with Home Improvement. During filming breaks, the child actors of each show would play basketball together.
Trivia: Rider Strong and Will Friedle rarely had any scenes together in the show's early seasons. Rider said this was because he was constantly trying not to laugh when doing a scene with Will, and he would over-compensate by making a very serious face, which in turn would cause Will to lose it.
Trivia: Ben Savage had a nervous tic that would frequently be on screen, which would see him walk into a scene and pull up his pants with his right hand. While rewatching the series for the Pod Meets World podcast, Will Friedle kept a running tally and said he observed the act 10 times in one episode.
Trivia: Rider Strong has said that Ben Savage would imitate him every morning for his performance in the film Benefit of the Doubt after seeing it on TV. Strong freely admits that his performance in the film is bad.
Trivia: William Russ once asked his at-the-time 3 or 4 year-old daughter Georgia if she wanted to be involved in a Christmas episode. She responded by asking him if she was going to direct it.
Trivia: William Russ revealed on the Pod Meets World podcast that he was initially hesitant about joining the show, as he had never done a sitcom before and wasn't comfortable with the format. The show also ended up being his first experience directing.
Trivia: Cory, Shawn, and Mr. Feeny (voice only) made an appearance in an episode of a short-lived series from 1995 called "Maybe This Time," in which they appeared in an in-universe Boy Meets World episode as part of a waking dream by a character named Gracie. "Maybe This Time" was also produced by Michael Jacobs.
Answer: I learned the answer to this one today. It is "Tree of Life" by Garé Barks.
Phaneron ★