If you're of a certain age, there is no pop-culture nerd more iconic than Steve Urkel, the geek-next-door on the '90s sitcom Family Matters played by actor Jaleel White.
But while he may have been a nasally dork constantly getting into mishaps that made him say "Did I do that?," it turns out Urkel had a rather un-Urkel-esque secret: He was packin'.
That's according to White, who said during an appearance on the Mad Dog Sports Radio show that Urkel had to go through a bit of a wardrobe adjustment as White grew up—in order to accommodate his increasingly noticeable bulge.
White was just 12 when the show began filming in 1989, but by the time it went off the air in 1998 after nine seasons, White was a full-on adult of 21.
So of course that means he quite literally grew up on camera. And it caused some trouble with Urkel's nerdy jeans—which were of course hiked up as high as possible in a manner that, you know, tends to hug certain parts of the male anatomy. The slang phrase "moose knuckle" comes to mind.
Given that Family Matters was part of the family-friend "TGIF" line-up on ABC, that was obviously a no-go, whether it was Urkel or his incredibly smooth and dashing alter-ego Stefan Urquelle on-screen.
White told the radio show's hosts:
“In the final season of Family Matters, it was decided — I was not a part of any of these not sessions — it was decided that I would no longer wear jeans, because they just looked just too tight."
"And if you’ll notice, on the final season of 'Family Matters,' Steve only wears khakis.”
White elaborates on this in his newly released memoir, Growing Up Urkel, writing that bosses on the show said:
“'We want to keep this character going, because everybody knows the character, but we just don’t want certain characteristics anymore.'"
'Let’s get rid of the suspenders. Lower his pants, too. Oh, and . . . it’s getting a bit uncomfortable watching him in tight jeans. There’s a, uh . . . bulge.'"
White goes on to write that he was relieved by the wardrobe change, because those nerdily tight jeans weren't just embarrassing, they were also uncomfortable:
“By the time I entered college in 1995, when the show was in its sixth season, I was peeling myself out of tight Urkel jeans like a banana.”
Yeah, sounds like!
Naturally, people on social media got quite a kick out of learning that Steve Urkel of all people was packing major heat in his britches.
If you want to read even more details of Steve Urkel's heaving bulge, Growing Up Urkel is now in bookstores!
