Jaleel White is opening up about his past as the lovable nerd Steve Urkel on ABC’s hit sitcom Family Matters, including a sizeable admission.
The 47 year old actor was just 12 when he landed the role, which was originally just supposed to be a one-time guest starring role halfway through the first season.
He quickly became so popular he would become a series regular and a big part of the show throughout its nine-season run on ABC.
White was 20 years old heading into Season 8, the show’s penultimate season, when he was given a wardrobe change deemed necessary by networks executives.
He was told to wear looser-fitting jeans to hide his bulge, it’s revealed in his memoir Growing Up Urkel (via US Sun), which will be published November 19.
Jaleel White is opening up about his past as the lovable nerd Steve Urkel on ABC’s hit sitcom Family Matters, including a sizeable admission
The 47 year old actor was just 12 when he landed the role, which was originally just supposed to be a one-time guest starring role halfway through the first season
The actor said he was growing out of the character by Season 8, but the network still wanted to keep the show going.
White claimed TV executives told him, ‘Let’s get rid of the suspenders. Lower his pants, too.’
The execs added, ‘Oh and…It’s getting a bit uncomfortable watching him in тιԍнт jeans. There’s a, uh…bulge.’
The actor admitted that by the time he enrolled at UCLA for college, he was, ‘peeling’ himself out of those тιԍнт pants, ‘like a banana.’
Along with the suspenders and тιԍнт pants, one of Urkel’s trademarks was his high-pitched voice, which, as he got older, became ‘physically painful’ to recreate.
The pain was so intense that he even considered leaving the show that made him a star, though he stayed through all nine seasons before it went off the air in 1998.
He also revealed in 2021 that his co-stars didn’t handle White’s growing fame too well.
‘I didn’t see how I was stepping on anybody’s toes, I was taking anybody’s shine,’ he revealed to TVOne’s Uncensored in 2021.
The 47 year old actor was just 12 when he landed the role, which was originally just supposed to be a one-time guest starring role halfway through the first season
The execs added, ‘Oh and…It’s getting a bit uncomfortable watching him in тιԍнт jeans. There’s a, uh…bulge’
The actor admitted that by the time he enrolled at UCLA for college, he was, ‘peeling’ himself out of those тιԍнт pants, ‘like a banana’
Along with the suspenders and тιԍнт pants, one of Urkel’s trademarks was his high-pitched voice, which, as he got older, became ‘physically painful’ to recreate
“It’s very important that I say this: I was not very well welcomed to the cast at all, okay?’ he admitted.
‘And I don’t need to rehash that with the adults over and over again. They know what it is,’ he insisted.
While Family Matters was still on the air, White lent his voice to the popular video game character Sonic the Hedgehog.
He currently hosts the game show Flip Side and married tech executive Nicoletta Ruhl in May 2024, and shares 15-year-old daughter Samaya with ex Bridget Hardy.
