In the 1990s, Warner Bros.’ Burbank studios were buzzing with the stars of Friends, Full House, Murphy Brown, and so many more, who were all filming their TV series during that time. So was Family Matters, and the stars fondly recall their days and famous neighbors there, especially one particular ER doctor.
“I’ll never forget George Clooney,” Jo Marie Payton exclaimed when EW recently reunited the cast of the sitcom. “I love him to death. He helped me take my pots and pans into the set.”
It’s quickly apparent by their shared laugh that Payton’s costars — Reginald VelJohnson, Telma Hopkins, Jaleel White, Kellie Shanygne Williams, Darius McCrary, Shawn Harrison, and Bryton James — know where this story is going.
“I’m taking my stuff out of my trunk, and George sees and he says, ‘Good morning,’ and asks if I need any help. He took all my stuff and he said, ‘Save some for me, whatever it is.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Then I said [falling back in her seat, flustered], ‘Damn!’”
(No word whether Clooney got any of that gumbo Payton was making.)
White had a very different experience with the future Oscar winner, albeit still an entertaining one.
“The ER stage was directly across from ours. Our basketball court … became synonymous with ‘that’s Jaleel’s basketball court,’” the onetime NBA hopeful explains. “I remember a teamster came onto our set and politely asked, ‘Would you mind if we moved the basketball hoop out into the common area between ourselves and the ER stage?’ I realized about a month later that this is technically no longer my basketball hoop; this hoop now belongs to Mr. George Clooney.”
While White can laugh about it now, back then he wasn’t about to give up “his” court so easily.
White got to put his skills to use on the sitcom during a couple of its 215 episodes. You can see those and all nine seasons of Family Matters — plus other ABC comedies and TGIF titles including Full House, Step by Step, and Home Improvement — now on Hulu.
