Though ‘Family Matters’ debuted in 1989, it’s mostly ’90s kids that reminisce about the show these days. And while it was a feel-good family sitcom that everyone could enjoy, there was one highlight that still has people talking today: the character of Steve Urkel.
Steve was a complete misfit, but he was hilarious, endearing, and a complete fixture as part of the cast of ‘Family Matters.’ In fact, the character’s entrance onto the show saved it from being canceled.
As for the character’s origins, he started out as a slated one-time appearance, and he was named after a friend of one of the show’s co-creators. The Los Angeles Times reported that Michael Warren, a co-creator, named the one-off character after his friend, Steve Erkel.
But viewers wanted more, and so Steve became a regular occurrence. Unfortunately for the original Steve, no one took him seriously after that. He struggled with prank phone calls, people who were suspicious of his credit card details, and was refused service since people thought he was pranking them.
Of the conundrum, Michael Warren noted, “This has caused a number of awkward situations for Steve. It’s made his life difficult. Had I known this would go on for years, I wouldn’t have used his name.”
Of course, the character’s popularity is a testament to the brilliance of Jaleel White’s acting. And, for the record, Steve Erkel was always a big fan of ‘Family Matters,’ regardless of the difficulties it caused him.
But more about Jaleel. His appearance was meant to be shortlived on ‘Family Matters,’ but audiences couldn’t get enough of his trademark one-liners (“Did I do that?” for one) and goofy behavior.
Jaleel may not have been one of the highest-paid TV child actors of his time (he was 12 at the start of Urkel days), but he earned a following for sure.
There was even an Urkel dance.
But what happened after ‘Family Matters’ wrapped in the late ’90s? Jaleel White has since revived Steve Urkel a handful of times. But he’s also pursued plenty of other projects.
IMDb lists over 95 credits for the actor, and he’s been in everything from ‘House’ to ‘CSI’ to ‘Scooby-Doo.’ Today, Jaleel is 43 and even has a daughter.
But really, that’s not what surprises fans most about Jaleel White today. Fortunately, the actor has Instagram, and while we wish every other ’90s star did, too, maybe he’s doing enough for millennials.
True ’90s babies will remember Steve Urkel’s alter-ego (also a bit of a science experiment TBH), Stefan Urquelle. If they didn’t know it back then, they know it now: Steve Urkel was the character Jaleel played, but Stefan was more his style (in terms of looks, at least).
Fortunately, fans can still catch him acting in shows like ‘Raven’s Home’ and ‘The Big Show Show’ as of 2020, so not all is lost, even though Steve Urkel’s long gone.
