The feel-good sitcom Family Matters premiered in 1989, and is perhaps best remembered for the family patriarch Carl Winslow’s (Reginald VelJohnson) feud with his nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel (Jaleel White).
Although White was initially supposed to appear in just one episode of the ABC series, he was an instant hit with audiences and ended up joining the main cast. Despite the warm welcome from viewers at home, White didn’t always feel the love from his castmates.
VelJohnson, for his part, told Entertainment Tonight in June 2022 that “overall” he had “nothing but good memories” of working with the child star. He added that “there were some moments where he was a little difficult,” but expressed that working with younger actors, in general, was a challenge.
“I think, you know, a lot of the kids grew up on the set and we had to deal with children … and that was an interesting experience,” he told the outlet. “I went to my dressing room and locked the door when I [rehearsed] my scenes because that was the only way. Because kids have a lot of energy … [and] you couldn’t deal with it.”
VelJohnson’s TV wife, Payton, recalled an incident where White wanted to “physically fight” her during a season 9 episode. “I said we can’t do that, standards and practices will not let that pass, it’s not gonna happen. He wanted to do it anyway. … He was so mad, he started kicking and screaming and stuff,” she told ET in May 2022.
Drama amid the cast aside, the Perfect Strangers spinoff ran for nine seasons, becoming the longest running sitcom with a predominantly Black cast, behind only The Jeffersons. White addressed his history with the show in his November 2024 memoir Growing Up Urkel.
Scroll through to see what the cast of Family Matters is doing now:
