49 Fun Facts About Family Matters

Family Matters was a spin-off of which sitcom?

Family Matters spun off from Perfect Strangers, where Harriette Winslow was a supporting character at the newspaper employing Larry Appleton and Balki Bartokomous.

What job did Harriette Winslow have on the parent show before her own series?

Harriette Winslow was the elevator operator at the newspaper where Larry Appleton and Balki Bartokomous worked, a role Jo Marie Payton began in 1987.

In which city is Family Matters set?

Family Matters is set in Chicago, like its parent show; the Winslow house seen in the opening credits was a real home on the city's West Wrightwood Avenue.

What is Carl Winslow's profession?

Carl Winslow is a police officer, starting the series as a sergeant; Reginald VelJohnson is the one cast member who appears in every episode.

Reginald VelJohnson came to Family Matters after playing which Die Hard character?

Reginald VelJohnson played Sergeant Al Powell, the LAPD officer who talks John McClane through the siege in Die Hard (1988), and reprised him in Die Hard 2.

Steve Urkel was originally written to appear in how many episodes?

Urkel was written as a one-episode guest in season one; the audience response was so strong that the writers made him a regular and he became the show's star.

In which episode did Steve Urkel make his debut?

Steve Urkel debuted in 'Laura's First Date', the twelfth episode of season one, in December 1989, as a blind date who refused to go away.

What is Steve Urkel's middle name?

Steven Quincy Urkel is the full version.

Which line was Steve Urkel's signature catchphrase?

'Did I do that?' is Urkel's signature line, delivered in a nasal whine after each mishap, and it became one of the most quoted sitcom catchphrases of the 1990s.

What does Steve affectionately call Carl Winslow?

Steve calls Carl 'Big Guy', cheerfully ignoring that Carl, self-styled King of the Castle, routinely hurls him out of the Winslow house.

What is the name of Steve Urkel's suave alter ego?

Stefan Urquelle first appeared in the season-five episode 'Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool', created when Steve drank a serum that suppressed his nerd genes, spoofing The Nutty Professor.

What practical reason did the show have for using Stefan so heavily?

The nasal Urkel voice was hurting the actor's throat, so episodes as the smooth-voiced Stefan gave his vocal cords time to recover.

What device does Steve build to switch into Stefan at will?

Steve builds a transformation chamber in the episode 'Stefan Returns', letting him switch between Urkel and Stefan at will after perfecting his formula.

In the season seven finale, what does Steve build that produces a duplicate of himself?

In 'Send in the Clone', Steve's cloning machine produces a second Steve, who is then turned into Stefan for good so each girl can have the Urkel she wants.

Whom does Laura ultimately choose in the season nine episode Pop Goes the Question?

Laura picks Steve over Stefan in 'Pop Goes the Question'; Stefan bows out, and Steve and Laura are engaged by the series finale.

Which female Urkel relative, also played by the same actor, chases Eddie the way Steve chases Laura?

Myrtle Urkel, Steve's Southern-belle cousin, is also played by the Urkel actor in drag and pursues Eddie with the same relentless devotion; a makeover is her last push.

What is the name of Steve's devoted girlfriend, introduced in season four?

Her full name is Myra Boutros Boutros Monkhouse; she transfers schools to be near her Stevie-kins.

Which school do Steve, Laura and Eddie attend?

The Winslow kids and Steve attend Vanderbilt High School, where Eddie's friend Waldo Faldo is a classmate and Steve's science projects regularly go wrong.

Waldo Faldo was originally introduced as what?

Waldo Faldo debuted in season two as a sidekick to Eddie's bully Willie Fuffner (Larenz Tate) before being rewritten as Eddie's dim-witted best friend.

Who played eldest Winslow child Eddie for all nine seasons?

Darius McCrary played Eddie Winslow from the 1989 pilot to the 1998 finale; Bryton James played Richie and Shawn Harrison played Waldo.

What happened to youngest daughter Judy Winslow after season four?

Judy Winslow vanished after season four with no explanation; her final appearance was the 1993 episode 'Mama's Wedding', and later episodes never mentioned her.

Who played Judy Winslow?

Jaimee Foxworth played Judy Winslow from the 1989 pilot until the character was dropped in 1993; she later appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab in 2008.

What is Mother Winslow's first name?

Carl's street-wise mother moved in during the pilot; Steve calls her 'Estelle, my Belle'.

Whom does Mother Winslow marry at the Winslow home in season four?

Mother Winslow marries Fletcher Thomas in the season-four finale 'Mama's Wedding', held at the Winslow home; Carl had disapproved of the romance at first.

Harriette's widowed sister opens what teen hangout in season two?

Rachel Crawford opens Rachel's Place in season two on the site of Leroy's, the burger joint Urkel accidentally burned down; Waldo later cooks there.

Who played Rachel Crawford?

Telma Hopkins, formerly of Tony Orlando and Dawn, played Rachel Crawford; she left full-time in 1993 to star in the short-lived sitcom Getting By.

What does Rachel's young son Richie call Urkel?

Richie Crawford calls Urkel 'Uncle Steve'; the boy, played by Bryton James from season two, idolises him thanks to Steve's constant visits.

What is the name of the boy the Winslows adopt in season eight?

3J, short for Jerry Jamal Jameson, first appeared as Urkel's 'Little Brother' in a mentoring programme and was adopted by Carl and Harriette in season eight.

What is Eddie Winslow's job at the end of the series?

Eddie Winslow ends the series as a rookie police officer, having entered the academy in season nine after drifting through college and odd jobs.

Who is Eddie's long-term girlfriend by the series finale?

Greta McClure, played by Tammy Townsend, is Eddie's girlfriend from season seven to the finale; her father Dave owned Mighty Weenie, where Eddie worked, and opposed the relationship.

Which Ivy League school accepts Laura in season seven, only for her to decline?

Laura is accepted to Harvard in season seven but turns it down because her parents cannot afford the tuition, telling them instead that she wants to stay near home.

What is Carl's rank by the ninth season?

Carl is a captain by season nine, having started the series as a sergeant and been promoted to lieutenant along the way.

What was the ABC Friday-night block that Family Matters anchored called?

TGIF was ABC's Friday comedy block from 1989 to 2000; promos claimed the letters stood for Thank Goodness It's Funny, and Family Matters anchored it alongside Step by Step.

To which network did Family Matters move for its ninth and final season?

Family Matters moved to CBS for 1997-98 along with Step by Step, after eight seasons on ABC; CBS scheduled both on its own Friday lineup.

Why did Miller-Boyett take the show to CBS?

The producers doubted they would be a big player at ABC after the Disney purchase.

Which cast member did Jo Marie Payton nearly come to blows with before leaving in season nine?

Jo Marie Payton said Jaleel White, pushing a gangster bit that standards had rejected, came close to a physical fight with her on set in season nine; a castmate separated them.

Who took over as Harriette for the rest of the final season?

Judyann Elder took over as Harriette midway through the ninth season after Jo Marie Payton left the series during its final year.

How many episodes did Family Matters run for?

Family Matters ran 215 episodes over nine seasons, from September 1989 to July 1998, making it one of the longest-running sitcoms with a predominantly Black cast.

The two-part series finale was titled what?

'Lost in Space', the two-part finale aired in July 1998, sends Steve into orbit on a NASA shuttle mission that nearly strands him before he makes it home.

Which Sega character was the Urkel actor the first American to voice?

The Urkel actor voiced Sonic the Hedgehog in three 1990s cartoons: Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, the Saturday-morning Sonic (1993) and Sonic Underground (1999).

Which Cosby Show role does the Urkel actor say he was cast in before the part was recast as a girl?

The Urkel actor says he was cast as Rudy Huxtable when the youngest Cosby child was written as a boy; the part was recast as a girl and went to Keshia Knight Pulliam.

What novelty dance originated in the season two episode Life of the Party?

'The Urkel' debuted in the season-two episode 'Life of the Party', with Steve leading the room through 'Do the Urkel'; the dance became a real-life craze.

Steve Urkel crossed over to which show to help Stephanie Tanner cope with getting glasses?

Urkel visited Full House in the 1991 episode 'Stephanie Gets Framed', consoling Stephanie Tanner about her new glasses; the two sitcoms shared ABC's Friday lineup.

Which short-lived breakfast product was licensed from the show?

Urkel-Os, a fruit-flavoured loop cereal from Ralston, hit shelves in 1991 with Urkel on the box; a talking pull-string Urkel doll was sold the same year.

Where did Steve's never-seen parents move to, leaving him to live with the Winslows?

Steve's parents moved to Russia without him, so the Winslows took him in; his never-seen family is repeatedly said to despise him.

Which Louis Armstrong song was the show's original theme in its first season-one episodes?

Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World' opened the earliest season-one episodes before 'As Days Go By', by Jesse Frederick, Bennett Salvay and Scott Roeme, became the long-running theme.

What did the 1997 deal moving Family Matters and Step by Step off ABC cost?

The network that lured Family Matters and Step by Step from ABC in 1997 paid a reported $40 million; both sitcoms lasted only one season there.

Which sitcom ran 253 episodes over 11 seasons, outlasting Family Matters?

The Jeffersons ran 253 episodes across 11 seasons from 1975 to 1985, outlasting Family Matters' nine-season run.

What was the German title of Family Matters?

The German title, Alle unter einem Dach, translates as 'All under one roof', a nod to the crowded Winslow household rather than a rendering of 'Family Matters'.