Jaleel White
Real Name: Jaleel Ahmad White, (born:
November 27, 1976
)
Jaleel White ascended to cult stardom during his early teenage years with a now-iconic portrayal of über-nerd Steve Urkel on the Friday-night ABC sitcom Family Matters (1989-1998). A veteran of television commercials and guest spots on various prime-time series from early childhood, White appeared as a regular on the short-lived CBS sitcom Charlie && Co. (1985-1986), starring Flip Wilson and Gladys Knight. The Urkel role, however, brought about his greatest popularity, and he landed it not long after the series first bowed in late September 1989 (appearing as early as the 12th episode). Though originally intended as a one-episode guest star, White generated massive popularity among audience members -- encouraging producers Tom Miller and Robert Boyett to rethink their strategy for the show. Urkel quickly became not only a fixture, but the program's lucky charm -- the wild card that turned it into a number one hit, much as the same producers had done with The Fonz, years prior, on Happy Days. Over the course of the program's run, White ascended to prominent billing (also mirroring the Fonzie situation).
Unfortunately, as time passed, the Urkel characterization became increasingly difficult to sustain, thanks in no small part to White's accelerating age and height -- which dealt the series writers an incredibly difficult hand and forced them to figure out bizarre ways to work around this handicap (strategies included giving Urkel a "cool" alter-ego, Stefan, and affording that persona a great deal of screen time).
Where are they now?
Currently living in Los Angeles in an upscale apartment.
For now, White is concentrating on writing. He loves basketball and writes a blog on the official NBA website. Compared to his former $100,000 per episode role on Family Matters, and seeing his face on merchandise like Urkel dolls and Urkel O's cereal, his current activities don't seem as great.
He has also continued acting and has had small parts in the films Big Fat Liar and Dreamgirls, and was featured in lead role in the 2006 comedy Who Made the Potatoe Salad?. In 2007, he guest starred on the CW series The Game, followed by a role as a law school graduate interviewing for a job at Crane, Pool and Schmidt in the ABC legal drama Boston Legal.
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Birth name: Jaleel Ahmad White
Born: November 27, 1976
Height: 6ft 1in
Stage Name(s):
Urkel
Origin: Pasadena, California
Career years: 1984 - present
Biography
White was born in Pasadena, California, the son of Gail, a manager, and Michael White, a dentist. White attended Huntington Middle School in San Marino, California and part of high school at John Marshall Fundamental Secondary School in Pasadena, California. As a high school senior, he attended South Pasadena High School where he would graduate.
Reference/Source(s):
Jaleel White. (2008, November 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:25, November 2, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jaleel_White&oldid=249153422
