In celebration of February being National Black History Month, I thought it would be appropriate and interesting to appreciate our favorite actors, celebrities, or people in general.
It could be your mother. It could be a best friend growing up. It could be too difficult to choose, if you live in a high-density black demographic area. But for Provo-ites like myself who know only 2 black people, the choice is much more simple.
Before I reveal who my favorite black person is, I want to give a shout out to my two black friends, Bismarck and Josephine. Bismarck Odei is my Elder's Quorum President and Josephine is a Young Ambassador at BYU. Both are talented, beautiful people whom I respect greatly. It was Bismarck who corrected me when I used the term, "African-American" in reference to his race.
"I'm from Jamaica; I am black, not African." [He's from Ghana.]
Although these friends are dear to me, I still hold another individual in even higher esteem . . .
That man is Jaleel White. I know, the name is quite ironic. However, some of his mannerisms are known to resemble those of Donnie Osmond in Weird Al's music video "White and Nerdy". Many of you probably remember him as Steve Urkel from the ABC show, Family Matters.
Steven Quincy Urkel (born July 25, 1976), better known as Steve Urkel, is a fictional character on the ABC/CBS comedy sitcom Family Matters, portrayed by Jaleel White. Originally a one-time guest on the show, he soon became the most popular character of the show.
Urkel was a geek/nerd, with large, thick eyeglasses, "high-water or flooding" pants held up by suspenders, multi-colored cardigan sweaters, and a high-pitched voice. His main interactions on the show were his love for Laura Winslow and his perpetual annoyance of her father, Carl. Amongst the rest of the family, Harriette; Rachel; and "Mother" Estelle Winslow were more accepting and caring of Urkel. Urkel also had an alter ego, Stefan Urquelle, and drove a 1960 BMW Isetta which he was paid $50 to take from his uncle.
Steve intended to go to college at MIT, but after one semester he returned to Chicago and attended (the fictional) Illinois Occidental University with Laura. The character, originally intended as a one-shot character, was named after one of the writers' real life friends. Urkel's catchphrase is, "Did I Do That?" which is a reference to his clumsiness. The catchphrase has become very popular with fans. In later episodes, producers felt that as Jaleel White got older, Urkel had to change as well, changing his catchphrase to "Look what you did," blaming others for accidents throughout the series. A running gag through out the series is Steve getting jealous of every guy that Laura goes out with. He is a very good basketball player, something viewers would not think he would be good at because of his clumsiness.
On June the 2nd, 2006, the Associated Press circulated the rumor that White had committed suicide. It was alleged that after the untimely demise of TGIF-favorite Family Matters in 1997, White became obsessed with the character of Urkel, grew despondent, and shot himself. Other reports quoted White as saying that he would rather commit suicide than have to play Urkel in one more episode. But, gratefully, the rumors turned out to be just a hoax. I found him!
Here are the 5 Most Interesting Tid-bits from his IMDB bio/trivia sheet. (IMDB)
1. Originally was cast as Rudy on The Cosby Show until Bill Cosby decided to make the character a girl.
2. Before auditioning for Steve Urkel, he was looking for the "classic" nerd glasses (black, think, with tape around the center) but had no luck. His father, a dentist, tossed him the glasses he used to keep particles out of his eyes. Jaleel just figured he would find different glasses later. The crew loved the look so he kept them.
3. Regularly played basketball against George Clooney while each was on their respective TV series, "Family Matters" (1989) and "ER" (1994), which were on nearby sets.
4. White has most recently appeared in season 7 of 24 (episodes 8 and 9)? I haven't identified him in yet. But I'll have to go back and see.
5. White's MySpace Page claims he is 6'3" (White is an avid basketball enthusiast--see his NBA blog), yet IMDB marks him at only 5'10. My thought is that either White fibbed or he used part of his Urkel-fortune to pay for some ballin'-leg extension surgery. (IMDB is never wrong.)
And here is the latest chatter on what he will be up to in the future. (Including finishing a screenplay that he is working on called "Did U Get My Text" to be finished in 2011.)
I think I saw Jaleel in Dream Girls.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine if he had been Rudy in Cosby? That would have changed the whole show! I loved Family Matters back in the day. Thanks for all the interesting trivia. :)
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