When it comes to '90s nostalgia, it really doesn't get any better than Boy Meets World. For people of a certain age (30-somethings, that is), Cory, Topanga, Shawn, Eric, and the whole gang feel almost like they were our friends rather than characters on our TV screens. From 1993 to 2000, we experienced our teenage years alongside them - middle school dances to college applications and everything in between. The show employed quite a lot of day players to fill out this world.
Guest stars frequently made appearances to portray crushes, bullies, classmates, and nagging teachers. While Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel stand out in memory, these guest stars probably aren’t taking up much of your brain space these days. But that’s about to change; here are 10 of the most famous people who made guest appearances on Boy Meets World.
10 Brittany Murphy
We’ll wait while you grab a box of tissues. The ‘90s was a busy decade for Brittany Murphy, who passed away in 2009 at only 32 years old. Somehow between mega hit movies like Clueless and Girl, Interrupted, she made time to appear in two Season 1 episodes of Boy Meets World as Trini, Topanga’s awkward best friend. Trini is dorky, but charming, and her overeagerness to befriend Cory yields plenty of laugh lines. We remember you, Trini!
9 Mena Suvari
Four years before she rose to international fame for her role in American Beauty, Mena Suvari appeared in Season 3 as Hilary, a cutie from another high school. Hilary courts Cory at a dance, thinking that he is Shawn, whose suave reputation is favored among girls. Most now remember her from her prominent roles in American Pie, Six Feet Under, Sugar and Spice, and American Horror Story, but Boy Meets World fans can say they knew her way back when.
8 Fred Savage
It was probably pretty easy for Fred Savage to get on the show, given that Ben Savage is his brother. Not that he needed the connection - the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated lead actor of The Wonder Years was already a star in his own right. In Season 6, he plays a creepy professor who hits on Topanga and then lies about it. Later, he also directed two episodes of the show.
7 Rue McClanahan
It’s hard to see Rue McClanahan as anyone other than the lascivious Blanche Devereaux in TheGolden Girls, but the ‘90s saw her playing many other roles, including Cory’s grandmother Bernice in Season 1 of Boy Meets World. Bernice is brash and ostentatious, showering Cory and his siblings with gifts and regaling them with promises of fun outings and big purchases. When she doesn’t follow through on her promises, Cory learns a difficult truth about his grandmother and her history of letting down Cory’s dad in the same way.
6 Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Jake Roberts took his talents from the professional wrestling ring to the set when he guested in Season 4. Frankie, a gentle giant and a friend of Cory and Shawn’s, struggles to relate to his dad, a wrestler, because he doesn’t know anything about wrestling. Cory agrees to go with Frankie to his dad’s match, at which Jake “The Snake” Roberts, playing himself, is the opponent. Jake The Snake loses, but the delight of having a real professional wrestler on is a big win for the show.
5 Jennifer Love Hewitt
The Halloween episode “And Then There Was Shawn” tops most fans’ lists of favorite episodes ever. Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Jennifer Love Fefferman, a humorous and cheekily-named offshoot of herself. She and the main gang get trapped in the school with a killer on the loose, and even in a dire situation, she still finds time to make out with Will, who instantly forgets his previous accusation that she was the killer.
4 Phyllis Diller
Most Boy Meets World fans couldn’t have properly appreciated the star power of this guest at the time, but now might recognize her as one of the most prominent celebrities to ever make an appearance. Phyllis Diller was a juggernaut in the standup comedy scene at a time when men dominated the genre. She delighted as Madame Ouspenskaya, a fortune teller who offers Cory some troubling premonitions.
3 Dom Irrera
This is the kind of guest appearance that would pique your dad’s interest as he walked through the living room while you were watching Boy Meets World. The comedian captured fans throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s with material about growing up in a multigenerational Italian-American family. True to his act, Dom played Bosco Cellini, Topanga’s “Italian” hair stylist. Sean calls Bosco out for what he knows is a fake Italian accent, and Bosco switches instead to a heavy Brooklynite accent, to hilarious effect.
2 Leisha Hailey
Now we know her as Alice, the snappy bisexual in The L Word and its recent reboot, The L Word: Generation Q, but Boy Meets World was actually Leisha Hailey’s television debut. She played Corinna, a struggling musician and a girlfriend of Eric’s. The episode made good use of Leisha’s guitar skills; she also has an impressive music career as part of pop groups The Murmurs and Uh Huh Her.
1 Candace Cameron Bure
...or “DJ,” as you more likely know her. The former Full House star is now known for her wholesome image, but she didn’t always play squeaky clean characters. “The Witches of Pennbrook” featured her as a lustful, Satan-worshipping witch who throws herself at Jack. Maybe this character helped Candace Cameron Bure get an evil streak out of her system before returning to the conservative image she holds today.
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