Talking Like Urkel Damaged Jaleel White's Voice

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | September 17, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | September 17, 2024 |

We’ve all done it. You stumble in front of friends and try to cover. Other people were watching as you spilled your soda in the food court and you couldn’t think of anything else. It was Friday and you were so very excited to get home and watch Family Matters that you did it all day (okay, maybe these aren’t as universal as I thought). You’ve done the Urkel Voice. We (those over 30) all have. But we never thought much of it. It was just a fun fad that accompanied a popular television show. For Jaleel White, it was something more.

White was a mega-star. He was already being cast in various television shows. Still, it was the role of Steve Urkel, on Family Matters, which thrust him into the public consciousness. The role started small. Urkel was just a one-off neighbor to the Winslow family, meant to stop by and annoy them occasionally. That quickly changed. The character’s popularity with audiences had him take on a bigger role in the show. He would soon become one of, if not the main character on the show.

While Urkel was certainly popular, he would eventually become derided by the television-watching public. The character was mocked constantly. Nerdy black kids were subjected to name-calling for the sin of needing glasses (and still are). What started as a fun, silly character grew into a cultural phenomenon less liked the longer it existed. Jaleel White has been open about the rollercoaster ride that was his Urkel fame, and now we know that the role took a toll on the actor’s voice.

At a recent appearance at 90s Con, White said that portraying the character “damaged my voice.” “I spoke to a doctor,” he told the attendees, “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.” Luckily, White said, “It’s been in remission and I’m fine now.” Still, the actor said it was much more stressful at the time. “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.”

There are countless stories of fame being a double-edged sword. Plenty of child stars have difficult experiences in the entertainment industry that only get worse with time. Luckily, White is not such a case. “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,” the actor told the Con Crowd. It’s comforting to know that he is at peace with the situation and doing well. Now, we can continue doing the Urkel Voice and Urkel Dance, knowing that the man who suffered to bring them to us would not have it any other way.