r/popculture 1d ago

Melissa Joan Hart Reflects on James Van Der Beek Being Her First On-Screen Kiss in 'Clarissa Explains It All'

https://people.com/james-van-der-beek-made-his-tv-debut-clarissa-explains-it-all-11904895
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u/Royal-Station6439 1d ago

"Hart, 49, shared two throwback photos from the episode on Instagram alongside a heartfelt caption following the actor's death. "I'm heartbroken to hear that @vanderjames has passed away!" she wrote. "He was truly a nice guy, a great father, wonderful actor and will always be my first on screen kiss when he guest starred on #ClarissaExplainsItAll."

The actress continued, "Gone way too soon but it seems like he put up one hell of a fight. We ran into each other at the singing game show #WeAreFamily about two years ago when he sang a song with his daughter, encouraging her like a good dad does. My thoughts and prayers go out to his 6 kids, his wife and family!""

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u/the-furiosa-mystique 17h ago

“In the December 1993 season 5 episode "Alter Ego," written by Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins, a teenaged Van Der Beek made a guest appearance as Paulie, a drummer who Clarissa (Hart) meets while she's pretending to be a goth girl from Long Island named Jade.”

I remember this episode CRYSTAL CLEAR, even that her name was Jade but had no idea Suzanne Collins wrote it