TITLE: Growing Up Urkel
AUTHOR: Jaleel White
PUBLISHER: Simon and Schuster
PUBLISHING DATE: November 19, 2024
PAGES:
SOURCE: Library
FROM GOODREADS: An incisive and insightful memoir by one of the most beloved icons of nineties television Jaleel White, the actor who portrayed Steve Urkel on the hit sitcom Family Matters.
At the tender age of twelve, Jaleel White auditioned for the role of Steve Urkel, the socially inept genius, who was in love with his next-door neighbor, Laura. Though Steve Urkel was intended to be in only one episode, Jaleel’s indelible performance catapulted Urkel into the pantheon of American pop culture. But success can cost as much as it pays. After nine years on the popular sitcom Family Matters, Jaleel is twenty-one, a UCLA undergrad, and adjusting to a world and industry that sees him as the nasally nerd in high water pants, suspenders, and coke bottle glasses.
Jaleel White is not your typical childhood actor. His parents were very grounded and kept him in check. Even when working and making extreme amounts of money, his allowance consisted of $300.00 when he needed something because that was the amount his mother was comfortable drawing out at once. In addition, it wasn't until he entered college that he bought his first new car. Up until that part, he drove his dad's hand-me-down. His parents' main reason for encouraging and supporting his son's acting career was so he would have the money needed to obtain a good high school education.
White also experienced some problems once Family Matters ended. It was hard to leave Urkel behind as the character was so uniquely portrayed and was really not allowed show a lot of character growth over the year. White did have a few other series afterwards but they were on smaller networks and I will admit to know very little about them.
Finally, I respect what White did with this book. He has a young daughter and referenced her only a few times and included only one picture with her. He was never really in a long-term relationship with the mother and chose to air very little of their interactions with the book itself. Also, there was a character named Judy, the youngest daughter, on Family Matters who just disappeared and was never mentioned again after four seasons. I'm always a little shocked when shows do that but after reading this book, at least now I know what happened.
If you like memoirs and want to read about a childhood actor who didn't fall into the pitfalls many others did, this book is a good reference on how to make sure that doesn't happen. Plus, it's just plain interesting for those of us just out-and-out curious.
MY RATING: 5 PAWS
(Rating this for Goodreads purposes. However, I chose not to rate the lives of famous people or public figures as I believe it is not my position to question or support their choices or beliefs.
He's got his own game show now, doesn't he? I think this would be an interesting read. I never really watched Family Matters, but you couldn't help but know who Urkel was back in the day. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. It's an interesting story.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart
I know the show aired in Italy (it was called "Otto sotto un tetto", which translates as "Eight under a roof"), but I've never seen it. It's great that his parents kept him grounded, and that he was willing to respect the mother of his daughter (and his daughter herself) - too many memoirs seem to be more about revenge and airing dirty laundry than anything else. Did you notice how the cover pays homage to Michael Jackson's Thriller album?
ReplyDeleteI remember Irkel as being an annoying character, lol. But I love that the actor had such a grounded childhood. You don't hear about that happening very often.
ReplyDelete