‘Boy Meets World’ Star Danielle Fishel Mourns Devastating Loss With Poignant Tribute

Michelle Stein May 10, 2026, 12:00 pm

BOY MEETS WORLD, Rider Strong, Ben Savage, Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, — ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection

What To Know

Danielle Fishel paid tribute to David Kendall, a writer, director, and producer for Boy Meets World.
The Pod Meets World podcast honored Kendall with a special episode
Kendall served as executive producer and showrunner, and is remembered for his mentorship, kindness, and lasting impact on the cast and crew.

Danielle Fishel shared a poignant tribute to a Boy Meets World family member, David Kendall, one week after his death.

On Sunday, May 10, Pod Meets World released a special episode honoring Kendall, who served as a writer, director, and producer for the ’90s sitcom.

“Throughout our time on Boy Meets World, we had the honor of working with writers, directors, and producers who single-handedly changed family television. Creatives whose body of work is expansive and legendary. And this week, we are talking about one of our favorite examples of this type of coworker, someone we will miss dearly,” Fishel began.

She explained that Kendall was instrumental in Boy Meets World Seasons 2 and 3 and later returned to contribute in Seasons 5, 6, and 7. Kendall also worked for shows like Growing Pains, Hannah Montana, iCarly, Victorious, Ned’s Declassifed School Survival Guide, Melissa & Joey, and more.

“It’s no coincidence that one of his episodes of Boy Meets World is called ‘Home’ because he is one of the few who made our set feel like one,” Fishel recalled. “From making sure we were protected as children to pretending to be Will’s dad on the trip to film with Nancy Kerrigan, he is ingrained in our brains as an ally, a friend, and a mentor.”

Later in the podcast episode, Fishel recalled Kendall mentoring her as she directed episodes of Sydney to the Max.

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“David, we love you. You are going to be missed,” Fishel said at the end of the tribute episode. “Were so thankful to all of you who listen, who have sent in such nice messages about how much you loved learning about him. He, no doubt, was a crowd favorite to have on the show, and we’re so happy that he was able to be on as many times as he was with us. And I think we will always continue to say, ‘I bet Kendall will know. We should text Kendall.'”

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On May 2, the Pod Meets World podcast first shared the news of Kendall’s death on Instagram with an emotional tribute.

“We are devastated to lose such an important person in our lives, both professionally and personally,” the podcast’s official account wrote in part. “We all kept in touch with David over the past 30 years, and are honored that we were able to share his incredible personality with our Pod Meets World listeners.

Boy Meets World aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000. In addition to Fishel, the show starred Ben Savage, Will Friedle, Rider Strong, William Daniels, Betsy Randle, William Russ, Matthew Lawrence, and Lindsay Ridgeway, among others. A spinoff titled Girl Meets World aired for three seasons, ending in 2017.

Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World, streaming on Disney+