Although nobody has officially confirmed why Alex Désert (aka Mr. Williams) left Boy Meets World, we can assume, based on related testimonies, the network’s decision to focus on the younger characters was the primary factor.
Désert’s primary on-screen co-star, Anthony Tyler Quinn, described learning of his character’s write-off after Season 3. Unlike Désert, Quinn would remain on the series for Season 4, albeit in a significantly reduced role.
Quinn stated the following on the Pod Meets World podcast:
“In June of ’96 I get a phone call from Michael Jacobs and he’s like ‘Okay. I got some bad news.’ And I was like ‘Okay. Uh-oh.’ He’s like ‘so, you’re not coming back for Season 4. Maybe sparingly like five or four episodes. But definitely not Season 5. You’re not coming back.’
Anthony Tyler Quinn
Now, I get the concept that in show business there’s no such thing as job security, but this just seemed like a radical reversal. Cause we just had a conversation two months ago that everything was great. So, I just go, ‘What happened?’ and he goes, ‘So the network and the studio came at us last minute with some changes.
They said the kids are going into high school now and we wanna explore that whole dynamic, so we’re going to change it up. It was kind of unexpected, last minute, so there was nothing we could do to save it. He goes, ‘It is what it is,’ and that was it.”
Season 4 focused on the coming-of-age Ben Savage, Rider Strong, and Danielle Fishel, with Will Friedle as the focus of most of the B storylines.
Aside from the cast originals, Alan and Amy Matthews and Mr. Feeny, the adult influences were phased out of the cast.
Since Mr. Williams was intrinsically connected to the fate of Mr. Turner, the decision to move on from Turner automatically eliminated Eli from the show’s larger storyline.
The decision ultimately ended up being horrible for the show’s legacy, as Season 4 resulted in a massive downturn in episode quality due largely to the removal of Désert.
Where Did Alex Désert Go After Boy Meets World?
After appearing in 16 episodes during Season 3 of Boy Meets World, Désert starred in the movie Swingers in 1996 and Playing God in 1997. He then appeared as Jake Malinak in 129 episodes of Becker spanning 1998-2003.
In addition to his acting career, Desert is a professional musician, serving as one of the lead singers in the band Hubcat. The band was active from 1989-2000 before reemerging in 2003.
Desert continues his successful acting and musical career, including voice work for The Simpsons TV series and several video games, including World of Warcraft: Shadowlands and Mafia: Definitive Edition.