“Family Matters” was a popular American television sitcom that aired nine seasons from 1989 to 1997. The show, centered around a middle-class Black family living in Chicago, was a spin-off of the sitcom “Perfect Strangers,” in which the Winslows were introduced — Harriette as an elevator operator and husband Carl a police officer. Although the sitcom achieved decent ratings in its first season, it wasn’t until the character of Steve Urkel, portrayed by Jaleel White, was introduced that the show really took off. Simply known as Urkel, the nerdy, accident-prone neighbor of the Winslows tripped his way into America’s heart with catchphrases like, “Did I do that?” and “Whoa, mama.” In 1991 and 1992, Family Matters was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Comedy series and in 1997 White won the award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.
But it took more than one character to make this show a hit, and after nine seasons, America was entertained by dozens of talented actors who stepped onto the set and into the Winslows’ living room. Sadly, some of those famous faces are no longer delivering lines and laughs. So, keep reading as we pay tribute to those we lost from the show “Family Matters.”
Ron Glass
Emmy-nominated actor Ron Glass was a staple of American television starting in 1973 with his first role on “All in the Family.” After guest spots in shows like “Sanford and Son” and “Good Times,” he landed his breakout role as Detective Harris in “Barney Miller.” Glass told Pop Goes the Culture TV that another actor, Rod Perry, had the role in the pilot but was picked up by another show, leaving an opening. He also credited the writers with taking his character from “just kind of a Black guy who was in the room” to something that more resembled the actor himself. He said, “So actually we ended up with a really really, totally well-rounded, totally wonderful character to play.”
After “Barney Miller,” he continued to secure role after role, including portraying an actor named Buddy Goodrich in a 1989 episode of “Family Matters.” Buddy was the star of a show the Winslow family was obsessed with and Carl ended up arresting him for assault.
Glass’ decades-long acting career also included a hilarious stint as Ross Gellar’s divorce lawyer on “Friends” in 1999. His final TV spot was “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” in 2014. Two years later, on November 25, 2016, Glass died of respiratory failure. Per NPR, he was an activist and member of the board of directors for Los Angeles’ AL Wooten Jr. Heritage Center.
Rosetta LeNoire
Per The Guardian, Rosetta LeNoire was born in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, in 1911. Following a childhood rickets diagnosis that put her in leg braces for some time, LeNoire took up dance and musical theater. This eventually turned into a Broadway career, and she even founded her own theater company in 1968 called Amas.
LeNoire spent more than three decades on television with roles on “Another World,” “Ryan’s Hope,” “Gimme a Break,” and “Amen,” before landing her spot in the cast of “Family Matters.” She was 78 years old at the time, but she had no interest in letting her career wind down. According to the Los Angeles Times article, LeNoire said in 1992, “I tell people I’m against retirement, I’m for God, I believe in goodness and also luck.” LeNoire, who played Mother Winslow on “Family Matters,” started with the first episode of the series when her character moved in with the Winslows after the death of her husband. She appeared in all nine seasons and unlike most of the other Winslow clan, she actually liked their neighbor Steve Urkel.
