Jaleel Ahmad White born November 27, [ 1 ] is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Steve Urkel on the sitcom Family Matters β [ 2 ] where he was originally intended to make one appearance.
White eventually became the main protagonist of the show. His mother later became his manager. He got his start on TV commercials at age three. White's first television role was a guest stint on The Jeffersons , in According to White, he was cast in the role the character was originally intended to be male but was replaced by Keshia Knight Pulliam when Bill Cosby decided to mirror his television family after his real life family.
The pilot episode aired during a preview special on September 25, , on ABC. The series, however, was not picked up by the network. The role was initially conceived as a one-time guest appearance, but the character proved to be popular, and White was given a full-time starring role. He also played several other members of the Urkel family, including his alter ego Stefan Urquelle and Myrtle Urkel.
During the height of Family Matters ' popularity, the character of Urkel was marketed with breakfast cereal Urkel-Os and an Urkel doll. In , he was featured in The Jaleel White Special , in which he played a fictionalized version of himself making a film, while also playing Steve Urkel. By the time the series ended in , White, who was then 21 years old, was disillusioned with the role, and had been shaken by the death of his close friend and co-star Michelle Thomas from an aggressive form of stomach cancer.
Shortly after the series' cancellation, he stated in a interview, "If you ever see me do that character again, take me out and put a bullet in my head and put me out of my misery. In later years, White came to terms with the character. In a interview with Vanity Fair , he addressed the "bullet" quote stating, "It's one of those things that it's very unfortunate how quotes are taken out of context.
