Melissa Joan Hart remembers James Van Der Beek as 'my first on screen kiss' in “Clarissa Explains It All”
- - Melissa Joan Hart remembers James Van Der Beek as 'my first on screen kiss' in “Clarissa Explains It All”
Sydney BucksbaumFebruary 13, 2026 at 11:19 PM
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Melissa Joan Hart on May 1, 2025; James Van Der Beek on May 14, 2025
Terry Wyatt/WireImage; JC Olivera/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
Melissa Joan Hart is paying tribute to the late James Van Der Beek in a sweet way.
After the Dawson's Creek star died on Wednesday at age 48, Hart shared a memory of when he guest starred on her '90s hit show, Clarissa Explains It All, and became her first TV kiss.
"I'm heartbroken to hear that @vanderjames has passed away!" Hart wrote in the Instagram caption with two photos of them together on the show. "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. Gone way too soon but it seems like he put up one hell of a fight."
Hart revealed that they actually had reunited a couple years ago, and that she got to see him in action as a loving father.
"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," Hart said. "My thoughts and prayers go out to his 6 kids, his wife and family!"
See Hart's lovely tribute below:
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Van Der Beek's appearance on Clarissa Explains It All, in which Hart played the titular role, was his first TV credit. The episode, "Alter Ego," aired in December 1993 and was actually written by Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins.
In the episode, Van Der Beek played teen drummer heartthrob Paulie, who meets Clarissa when she's pretending to be a goth girl named Jade. Clarissa keeps up the charade out of fear that Paulie won't like who she really is, but when she finally tells him the truth, Paulie is "kind of flattered" she did it all to impress him, and they ultimately kiss.
"All on-screen kisses are awkward, especially at that age," Van Der Beek told Business Insider in 2023. "My gosh, how old were we? We were teenagers. I was 16 at that point, but yeah."
Van Der Beek's wife, Kimberly, announced that he died on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at age 48 after battling stage 3 colorectal cancer.
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"Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning," said her statement, which she shared on his social media accounts. "He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend."
James Van Derk Beek and Melissa Joan Hart on 'Clarissa Explains It All'
Nickelodeon
A cause of death has not been shared, but the actor previously opened up about his diagnosis of stage 3 colorectal cancer in November 2024.
"That's one of the reasons I want to talk about it and the reason I'm talking about it so openly," Van Der Beek told PEOPLE days after publicly revealing his diagnosis. "I've been dealing with this pretty much in secret for a while, and in the past, I've found it helpful and cathartic to share things publicly. And I've found a lot of support that way. But more than that, I really wanted to raise awareness."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
