Steven Quincy Urkel is a fictional character on the American ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters, portrayed by Jaleel White.

[2] Originally slated for a single appearance, he broke out to be the show's most popular character, gradually becoming its protagonist.

[3][4][5][6] 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.

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.

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.

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.

[9] 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.

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.

Unlike his friends, he is not interested in popular culture or sports, though 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.

He is a genius inventor, and his fantastical but unreliable gadgets (including a transformation device and a time machine) are central to many Family Matters plots and gags, especially during later seasons.

A major factor in creating and extensively utilizing Stefan was the simple fact that doing the distinctive voice of Steve Urkel was starting to cause damage to Jaleel White's throat, so having him play a character who could speak in a normal voice gave him time to recover (White could still sound like Steve, but with less weight on that he was able to avoid any long-term issues).

In 2010, Westside Middle School in Memphis, Tennessee, outlined its dress code policy on sagging pants, asking students to pull them up or get "Urkeled".

Jo Marie Payton, who played Harriette Winslow, admitted that she felt the Urkel character hogged much of the show's attention and disrupted the close family relationship she had formed with the rest of the cast.

Payton took particular umbrage when Jaimee Foxworth, who played youngest sibling Judy Winslow, was dismissed to make more room for Urkel plotlines.

[12] Payton experienced increasing burnout over the course of the show because the production staff gave White free rein to misbehave.

He attributed the difficulties to White's young age and being surrounded by other teenagers, which VelJohnson (who himself never had children) found overwhelming.

Bea Arthur (from Maude & The Golden Girls) joined him on stage to "Do The Urkel", after which she said, "Hey, MC Hammer, try and touch that!