'90s sitcom fans will remember Jaleel White as the scene-stealing nerdy guest star-turned-cultural phenomenon Steve Urkel from ABC and CBS' Family Matters. Meanwhile, '90s video game fans might remember him better as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in several iterations during that time. Suffice it to say, White seemed to be on top of the world at the time. But it turns out, at least part of that life wasn't the perfect wonderland of fame some might have expected.
White recently took part in an interview discussing his time on Family Matters, and despite the wholesome and friendly atmosphere everyone remembers from the show itself, apparently, things behind the scenes weren't quite so idyllic. Even though his character Steve Urkel quickly became one of the most recognizable characters of the entire era, effectively changing the entire trajectory of the show itself, the vibe behind the scenes didn't exactly reflect the close-knit family dynamic of the series itself. Heck, the Fast and Furious cast may even be more close-knit than they were.
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"I was not welcomed to the cast at all," White said when speaking on TV One's "Uncensored" interview show. "They know what it was…I didn't think anything of it, being cast to be on Family Matters, because it was supposed to be a guest spot, one and done." Fans now know Urkel as arguably the most recognizable figure from the Family Matters cast. But while many already know that he was originally intended as a one-time guest star, it likely comes as news to most that his addition to the cast was such an unceremonious affair.
Family Matters, itself a spinoff of '80s sitcom Perfect Strangers, kept things down to earth for the most part, at least when it didn't involve any Urkel-centric storylines. While it wasn't really uncommon to see sitcoms with all-Black casts, even at the time, the idea of a series focused on a largely average Black family gaining such mainstream attention was still a bit of a novel concept. That's not to say it was entirely out of the ordinary, but it was certainly a win for diversity, which is always worth fighting for. White's integration into the show kind of disrupted that "regular family" dynamic with a number of more surreal and outlandish subplots entering the fray. But even though people will always associate Family Matters with Urkel, they never forgot those core themes behind it.
It's worth mentioning that White doesn't seem to hold ill will towards the show or its cast. In fact, in the same interview, he looked back fondly on Family Matters castmate Michelle Thomas, who played Urkel's girlfriend Myra Monkhouse. Thomas tragically passed away in 1998 from a rare form of cancer, and White still finds himself saddened by that sudden loss. "Michelle Thomas became a very special person," he said. "I literally cannot say her name or I’ll cry."
This information shouldn't necessarily be taken to mean the cast was hostile to White. In fact, with fellow stars like Reginald VelJohnson on the show, it seems far more likely that the opposite is true. Sure, some of the performers may have harbored some slight resentment for the character of Urkel changing the dynamic of the show, but the idea seems to be that White never got a proper welcome due to his promotion to main cast member being rather unexpected. Still, Family Matters will always be remembered for more than just that one gimmick, which is more than Family Video can say.
Family Matters is available to stream on Hulu.
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Source: TV One