There truly wasn’t a better time to be alive as a kid than in the 90s. 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. One series you cannot give enough credit to for helping raise us was the family sitcom Family Matters.
All 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. Let’s see what Jaleel has been up to since putting Steve’s suspenders away.
Background info
Jaleel Ahmad White was born in Pasadena, California, on November 27, 1976, to parents Gail, a homemaker, and Michael, a dentist. An only child, Jaleel went to Henry E. Huntington Middle School, then John Marshall Fundamental High School and South Pasadena High School before graduating from UCLA Film School.
Believe it or not, Jaleel’s preschool teacher first encouraged him to get into acting. White’s first gigs were commercials when he was just three years old, like those famous Jell-O pudding pops ones with Bill Cosby.
Jaleel almost had his talents showcased on another huge hit at the time. 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. Guess that Jello-O commercial meant nothing to Cosby.
Early career
Jaleel first appeared on television in an episode of The Jeffersons in 1984. 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. White also appeared on Mr. Belvedere and the Little Clowns of Happytown in 1987.
Family Matters
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.
About 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. 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.
Jaleel White – Family Matters
There truly wasn’t a better time to be alive as a kid than in the 90s. 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. One series you cannot give enough credit to for helping raise us was the family sitcom Family Matters.
All 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. Let’s see what Jaleel has been up to since putting Steve’s suspenders away.
