Family Matters, the simultaneously warm and wacky “T.G.I.F.” staple, began life as a spinoff of ’80s odd-couple comedy Perfect Strangers. Jo Marie Payton portrayed elevator operator Harriette Winslow on that show, and Family Matters depicted her home life with husband Carl, their three kids, plus Aunt Rachel and Mother Winslow, of course, not to mention the wacky neighbor to end all wacky neighbors, Steve Urkel.
Debuting in late 1989, Family Matters became one of the definitive sitcoms of the ’90s on the strength of longevity alone, but it evolved as much as the decade did itself. By the time it wrapped up in 1998, it was no longer a family sitcom about the Winslows, but a sci-fi show about breakout character Urkel and his inventions going awry. (Also, he said “did I do that?” a lot, and it was hilarious. The ’90s were a different time, kids.) All the pressures of putting out a hit sitcom weighed on the actors, many of whom experienced some major personal and professional problems. Here’s a look at the scandalous side of Family Matters.
The cast of Family Matters resented Steve Urkel
Family Matters’ most famous and valuable asset was surprisingly not originally part of the series. Jaleel White’s whiny-voiced super-nerd Steve Urkel, whose likeness graced countless lunchboxes, dolls, T-shirts, and cereal boxes first appeared halfway through season one. He was just some dork who lived next door to the Winslows and came over to bug teenager Laura, upon whom he had a powerful crush. This male, geeky Kimmy Gibbler was a hit with audiences and network executives.
“It was [producers] Bill Bickley and Michael Warren that called myself, Telma Hopkins [Aunt Rachel], and Reginald VelJohnson [Carl Winslow], together and told us that ABC liked the Urkel character so much they’re going to make all of the shows about him,” Jo Marie Payton (Harriette Winslow) told TV Series Finale. While the non-Urkel cast members went along with the plan (and Payton says they’re “still laughing to the bank with the residuals” because Urkel “made the show go” for so long), the shift on Family Matters caused some tension. “It was a real shocker to all of us, you know what I mean? Because he was this little character,” Payton said.
White agrees that the situation got a bit dicey. “Things were definitely strained in the early going. There’s no sense in hiding that,” he told Vanity Fair. “There was a division between myself and the rest of the cast, but over nine years and 215 episodes, obviously relationships get better.”
Judy Winslow disappeared from Family Matters
In the first four seasons of Family Matters, the Winslows had three kids: Eddie, Laura, and little Judy, portrayed by Jaimee Foxworth. Then the character disappeared, never seen or even mentioned again. Did Steve Urkel erase her existence with one of his crazy gadgets?
Nope, according to Foxworth, the show’s creative team wrote off Judy because they didn’t want her around. “The producers felt that they could do it and no one would notice,” Foxworth told The Root. “They figured they could just throw me away, no explanation at all. Some of my cast members knew before I did.” Her TV mom, Jo Marie Payton, tried to change producers’ minds, but to no avail. This was the first and by no means last tough break Foxworth experienced.
Foxworth turned to music, joining her two older sisters in the R&B trio S.H.E.. The group released just one album, 1997’s 3’s a Charm, and fizzled out after a lack of success. Then, 19 and in need of money, Foxworth returned to acting… in adult films. Under the name Crave, Foxworth appeared in such notable projects as Booty Talk 20 and My Baby Got Back 29. Foxworth later said on The Dr. Oz Show that she also got into porn as a form of rebellion against her “very strict” upbringing, but that she untimely “wasn’t comfortable with just seeing myself in that light.” She made her last dirty movie in 2002.
