Steve Urkel

Steve Urkel (full character name: Steven Quincy Urkel, portrayed by Jaleel White) is a character on the 1990s sitcom Family Matters. The character was portrayed as an archetypical nerd, with large, thick eyeglasses, "high-water" pants held up by suspenders, and a high-pitched voice with a snorting laugh. Highly intelligent, he was (like other TV characters, e.g. Tim Taylor from Home Improvement) also quite accident-prone and socially awkward. Urkel was originally a one-shot character on Family Matters, but, because of audience and ratings reaction, he became the show's main character by the third season.

The ratings bonanza

Urkel was originally intended to be a one time only character (in the 1989 episode, "Laura's First Date" where Carl, Eddie and Estelle separately set up dates for Laura for a Sadie Hawkins dance). Urkel became very popular with the audience and viewers. Several scripts had to be hastily re-written to accommodate the Urkel character, while several first-season episodes that had been completed had new opening gags sequences filmed featuring Urkel. The addition of Urkel immediately helped the show's modest (at best) ratings.

Related Topics:
1989 - Sadie Hawkins dance

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White became a regular member of the cast in season two. White was credited as a guest star in the first season.

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