Jaleel White Reveals That Playing Steve Urkel onFamily MattersLeft His Voice Damaged for Years

Mar. 15, 2025

Jaleel White on ‘Family Matters’ in 1990 (left) and in 2023.Photo: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Alberto Rodriguez/GA/Getty

Jaleel Whitehas a lot to say — and thankfully he still has the voice to do so.

“I spoke to a doctor,” he explained, “and what happened is during puberty I spoke at the same pitch for extended periods of time. If the pitch had been going all over the place I wouldn’t have damaged it quite as much.”

Adding that “it’s been in remission and I’m fine now,” he said he went through a period around 15 or 16 years old when “I felt like I was really losing it. I would constantly get network notes like, ‘We can’t hear him. Please be more clear.’ It was kind of a scary thing for me to go through.”

Jaleel White and Kellie Shanygne Williams on a 1991 episode of ‘Family Matters’.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

White said he didn’t work with a voice coach when picking Urkel’s tone, leaving him without tools to protect his voice. Now, he has both vocal coaching and a doctor’s help to “get it under control.”

However, he added, “I wouldn’t do anything differently. It was a great experience and it was a small sacrifice to make for one hell of a legacy.”

White played Urkel on the series' nine-season run from 1989 to 1998.

Although his role was a staple on the show, White previously revealed thathe was “not welcomed to the cast at all.”

Reginald VelJohnson and Jaleel White on a 1990 episode of ‘Family Matters’.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

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At 90s Con 2023, cast members Jo Marie Payton, Reginald VelJohnson and Kellie Shanygne Williams reunited and spoke fondly of their costar while acknowledging their past differences.

“He had a lot to deal with, because we were already established as a family but he had to get into the group and introduce himself,” VelJohnson said. “We love him … he’s a special person.”

“Hate is not a part of anything you do,” Payton added. “I will always love him.”

White promised more stories from set and his lengthy career in his upcoming book,Growing Up Urkel,out this November.

90s Con Florida is occurring through Sunday, Sept. 15, at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.

source: people.com