The series was nominated for dozens of awards, with Jaleel winning a few for himself for his role as Steve. Jaleel also portrayed Steve’s female cousin Myrtle, to the dismay of the Winslow family for there being another Urkel to bother them, as well as other various Urkel family members.įor 208 (out of 215) episodes across the nine seasons, Jaleel’s Steve was obsessed with Laura, turning himself into the cool Stefan, and trying not to have an invention blow up until the show wrapped in 1998. The show also gave us a glimpse into what it would be like to create our alter ego, as Steve invented a way to turn himself into the handsome and stylish Stefan Urquelle, in an attempt to win over Laura.
While it was a comedy series with plenty of physical laughs from Jaleel’s character, there were so many tender moments between Steve and the Winslow parents, Steve and Mother Winslow, and Steve and Laura. That nerdy, quirky, clumsy neighbor Steve made a guest appearance that was only supposed to be one episode, but thankfully we all fell in love with Steve, and we’ve never been able to drop something without saying, “Did I do that?” ever since. In 1989, ABC dropped a show about a middle-class Chicago family as a spin-off to the hit series Perfect Strangers. Family Matters followed the Winslow family, made up of father Carl, mother Harriette, their children, Eddie, Laura, Judy, and Mother Winslow.Ībout halfway through the first season, they had a smart but strange neighbor Steve Urkel appear who had a crush on Laura, and the Winslow crew tried everything they could to get Steve out of the house without breaking something, falling and not being able to get back up, or eating all of their cheese. Belvedere and the Little Clowns of Happytown in 1987. In an attempt to copy the success of The Cosby Show, CBS released Charlie & Co., where Jaleel played Robert for 18 episodes before the show was canceled. Jaleel first appeared on television in an episode of The Jeffersons in 1984. Guess that Jello-O commercial meant nothing to Cosby. He was cast as Rudy Huxtable (the role was originally a boy) on The Cosby Show, but was later recast when they went in a different direction. Jaleel almost had his talents showcased on another huge hit at the time. White’s first gigs were commercials when he was just three years old, like those famous Jell-O pudding pops ones with Bill Cosby. Huntington Middle School, then John Marshall Fundamental High School and South Pasadena High School before graduating from UCLA Film School.īelieve it or not, Jaleel’s preschool teacher first encouraged him to get into acting. Jaleel Ahmad White was born in Pasadena, California, on November 27, 1976, to parents Gail, a homemaker, and Michael, a dentist.
Let’s see what Jaleel has been up to since putting Steve’s suspenders away. One series you cannot give enough credit to for helping raise us was the family sitcom Family Matters.Īll because of a pair of borrowed glasses from his dad and a guest spot, actor Jaleel White gave us Steve Urkel, and woah, mama, was an iconic character born. Thanks to our friends at ABC, we were gifted the amazing TGIF lineup, with shows like Step by Step, Boy Meets World, Sister, Sister, and Dinosaurs there for us every week. There truly wasn’t a better time to be alive as a kid than in the 90s.
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