Steve Urkel

Steven Quincy Urkel is a fictional character on the American ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters, portrayed by Jaleel White. Originally slated for a single appearance, he broke out to be the show's most popular character, gradually becoming its main protagonist. Due to the character's off-putting characteristics, a tendency to stir up events, and his role in the show's plotlines, he is considered a nuisance by the original protagonist's family, the Winslows. However, they come to accept him over time.

The character epitomizes a geek or nerd of the era, with large, thick eyeglasses, flood pants held up by suspenders, bad posture, multi-colored cardigan sweaters, saddle shoes, and a high-pitched voice. He professes love for his neighbor Laura Winslow. This love often leads to mishaps that trigger plot points and crises, and is unrequited until the series' end.

Throughout the series, Urkel is central to many of its running gags, primarily property damage and personal injury resulting from his inventions going awry or his clumsiness. The character became associated with catchphrases including "I've fallen and I can't get up!", "I don't have to take this. I'm going home.", "Did I do that?", "Whoa, Mama!", and "Look what you did!"

Steve Urkel first appeared in the show's twelfth episode, "Laura's First Date", where he is introduced as a nerdy young boy who takes Laura Winslow out on a date. Despite him being madly in love with her, Laura finds Steve grating and doesn't return his affection. While initially intended to be a minor character, Urkel became very popular with audiences for his oddball antics, and became a recurring character. To naturally introduce the character to audiences upon repeated viewings, the creators added a scene with Steve to the show's fourth episode "Rachel's First Date", which became his first appearance in syndication. Steve joined the main cast beginning with the season-two premiere "Rachel's Place".

Family Matters co-creator Michael Warren named the character after his friend, writer and director Steve Erkel. Due to the show and the character's tremendous popularity during the early 1990s, Erkel encountered difficulties using his own name. He received many prank phone calls from "Laura" asking for "Steve", and businesses found his name to be suspicious. Warren stated that had he known the character would reappear for years, he would not have named him after his friend.

Steve Urkel embodies the stereotype of a socially inept intellectual who means well but often messes things up. Despite his intelligence, his actions often come across as clumsy and foolish. He is fiercely protective of and obsessed with Laura Winslow, and this admiration extends to the rest of the Winslow family. His attempts to help the Winslows often go awry. This puts him at odds with the family patriarch, Carl, who routinely throws Urkel out of his house. He has been shown to take responsibility for his own mistakes and reimburses the Winslows for damage he's caused. Steve is close to Harriette Winslow, who is delighted when he comes over, much to Carl's chagrin.

Later episodes suggest that Steve's attachment to the Winslows stems from his bad relationship with his own family. Urkel often hints that most of his relatives, including his (never seen) parents, despise him and refuse to associate with him. This culminates in the two moving to Russia without him, and Urkel moving in with the Winslows. The show's plots reveal that Steve has at least four relatives who care about him. They are Uncle Ernie, Uncle Cecil (who, despite his gambling problems, visits the Urkel home to keep an eye on him), Aunt Oona from Altoona (played by singer Donna Summer), who is like a mother to him, and cousin Myrtle. In the series finale, Steve is non-bothered when he tells Laura that his parents won't be able to attend their wedding because their favorite episode of The Mod Squad will be airing in Russia, and later responds to Carl talking about how proud he is of his future son-in-law by saying "Thanks, Dad."

Urkel dresses unfashionably and is most commonly seen wearing suspenders, brightly colored shirts, and high-water pants. His hobbies include polka dancing and accordion playing. His motor vehicle of choice is a tiny European microcar, an Isetta. Unlike his friends, he is not interested in popular culture or sports, although he enjoys playing basketball and attempts to join the school team. This causes Myra to be attracted to Urkel but he shows little interest in her, mainly due to her stalker behavior.