In 1989, at the tender age of 12, Jaleel White was cast as the geeky but lovable, Steve Urkel, in the popular up-and-coming sit-com, Family Matters. The series was based on a relatively normal, African-American family living in Chicago, and the producers hoped to cash-in on the popularity of family comedies during the late 1980s, such as Family Ties (1982-1989), Who's the Boss? (1984-1992), Full House (1987-1995) and Roseanne (1988-1997).
The show also hoped to fill a void in the black viewing market, proceeding once-popular but recently canceled shows such as The Jeffersons (1975-1985) and Different Stokes (1978-1986). Ratings were stagnant during the show’s early goings, perhaps due to a relatively bland and predictable Winslow cast. Producers realized that African-Americanism alone would not be enough to sustain viewership, and would need to add “eccentric” supporting characters, appealing to what remained a largely Eurocentric sit-com viewing base.
Beginning late in Season 1, and more prominent in Season 2, the series began relying on unusual supporting characters such as Steve Urkel and the dimwitted but crowd-pleasing, Waldo Geraldo Faldo. Both were hit characters, catapulting the program, but it would be Steve Urkel who would become the true star. His popularity soon surpassed that of the show itself, launching “Urkelmania,” which lead to a variety of themed clothing lines, lunch boxes, pull-string dolls and even a breakfast cereal, “Urkel O’s.”
Within the program, Steve Urkel is a stereotypical “nerd,” with thick glasses, suspenders, brightly colored clothing, and a squeaky, nasal voice. Nerds had developed popularity during the 1980s, with movie hits such as Revenge of the Nerds (1984), the rise of Pee-Wee Herman, and even the popular Nerds candy, developed by Willy Wonka Candy Co. in 1983. But African-American males had been rarely cast this way, often portrayed as tough-guys, athletes or thugs. Even the tiny Arnold on Different Strokes, played by Gary Coleman, came off as more of a cool wisecracker than a misfit.
The character of Steve Urkel developed during Jaleel White’s awkward adolescence, and its overwhelming popularity quickly began to consume the young White. As it was also his first breakthrough role, he the person was thought of as Urkel, rather an actor playing the character. This was very unsettling for the young black male from Pasadena, and White began resenting the role. He began overcompensating personally, veering towards a newfound arrogance, which eventually convinced Family Matters’ producers to add the character of Stefan Urquelle in Season 5.
Stephan Urquelle was the opposite of Steve Urkel: cocky, confident, good looking and shallow. The kind of guy that would laugh at a fat girl and beat up a nerd. This role delighted White after years of playing the nerd, and he felt this role was much more reflective of his true self.
Jaleel White was eternally scarred by playing Steve Urkel. The same could be said for his nerd contemporary, Paul Reubens, whose role as Pee-Wee Herman perhaps lead to increasingly bizarre mood shifts and antisocial behavior, escalating in 1991 when Reubens was caught masturbating publicly in a pornographic theater. Reubens also felt emasculated by his “nerd” alter-ego, perhaps leading to that brazen, machismo circumstance that forced a premature end to Pee-Wee Herman (much to Reubens’ relief).
White has vowed to never reprise the role of Steve Urkel again, and this has lead to the virtual end of his career. Desperate for at least one recognizable personality, Dancing With the Stars, Season 14, has currently cast White as their “big star,” focusing on him as the cornerstone of media promotions.
Throughout the first two episodes, he has bask in the glow of Stephan Urquelle, forcing along a lifelong quest to prove that he is, in fact, cool, handsome and suave. In fact, practacally every time he appears, the host chimes, “Wow! No hint of Urkel here!,” almost as if probed by White’s agents to disenfranchise his once wildly popular persona.
The psychological turmoil White has endured escalated in Episode 2 when he broke down into tears, thanking the show for providing an outlet to display his coolness.
“This is my Mickey Mouse,” he wept, in a bizarre analogy perhaps only known to him.
Lets hope that Dancing With the Stars doesn't cause this poor, unstable young man any further long-term psychosis. Throughout the course of entertainment history, child actors are known for troubled lives, and particularly those as scarred as White, and also those suddenly thrust back into the spotlight.
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d.anderson 2012
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