‘Boston Public’ Ended 20 Years Ago: 12 Big Names Who Guest-Starred
Time for a high school reunion? Boston Public ended on Fox 20 years ago, airing its final episode on primetime television on January 30, 2004, after the network suspended and then expelled the series. (Two unaired episodes eventually aired in syndication, however.)
Boston Public — created by prolific TV producer David E. Kelley — followed teachers, administrators, and students at the fictional Winslow High, with Chi McBride, Loretta Devine, Jeri Ryan, and others playing educators at the school.
Many other big names guest-starred on the show, though, and you can find some of those impressive cast additions below.
Will Arnett
A couple years before Arrested Development got going, Arnett guest-starred in Boston Public’s second-season episode “Chapter Twenty-Nine,” playing a salesman who sells teacher Meredith Peters (Kathy Baker) a prosthetic hand.
Chris Evans
The future Captain America of the Marvel Cinematic Universe appeared in Season 1’s “Chapter 9,” playing teenage murderer Neil Mavromates, who takes his teacher Lauren Davis (Jessalyn Gilsig) hostage.
Edwin & Aldis Hodge
Edwin, now starring on FBI: Most Wanted, recurred as student Jamaal Crenshaw in Boston Public’s first three seasons. Younger brother Aldis, of Leverage fame, joined the show for Season 2’s “Chapter Thirty-Seven,” playing a student named Andre.
Whitney Houston
This late pop star guest-starred as herself in Season 3’s “Chapter Sixty-Six” after an intrepid senior invites her to prom. The appearance gave Houston an opportunity to perform her single “Try It On My Own,” which she had just released that year.
Boris Kodjoe
In the middle of his Soul Food run, Kodjoe — now starring in Station 19 — played basketball coach Derek Williams in a trio of Boston Public’s third-season episodes.
Leighton Meester
Long before Single Parents and even before Gossip Girl, Meester played Sarah Breen, a 15-year-old in the middle of a statutory rape case, in Season 2’s “Chapter Twenty-Eight.”
Debbi Morgan
This Daytime Emmy-winning All My Children alum portrayed Superintendent Marsha Shinn across four episodes of Season 1.
Mandy Patinkin
The Homeland and Death and Other Details actor popped up in Boston Public’s first season finale, playing Isaac Rice, a former teacher and rival of Scott Guber (Anthony Heald).
Amber Tamblyn
In Season 2’s “Chapter Thirty-Two,” this star of Joan of Arcadia and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films played Melissa Campbell, a student whose stairwell “accident” reveals a family secret.
Milo Ventimiglia
Before starring in Heroes and This Is Us, Ventimiglia played bad-boy student Jake Provesserio, who was actually an undercover cop, in a few Season 4 appearances.
Courtney B. Vance
This 61st Street and Lovecraft Country star guest-starred in the series premiere and again in Season 1’s “Chapter Five,” playing Walter Harrelson, the father of a high-school football star.
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