Jaleel White Tried 'A Million Darn Catchphrases' Before Striking Gold with Steve Urkel’s Iconic 'Did I Do That?'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jaleel White in October 2024 and as ‘Family Matters’s Steve Urkel in 1990.Photo:Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; Fotos International/Archive Photos/Getty

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; Fotos International/Archive Photos/Getty

Ever wonder whereSteve Urkel’s unforgettable catchphrase “Did I do that?” came from? Well, so haveDanielle Fishel,Rider StrongandWill Friedle.

“They tried a million darn catchphrases,” White, 48, said. “The first one that they ever tried really was Steve would just bump into inanimate objects — an end table or a lamp, knock it over and say ‘Excuse me.’ That was it.”

Jaleel White and Darius McCrary in ‘Family Matters’ in 1997.CBS via Getty

CBS via Getty

White also recalled the show’s writers incorporating “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up” into scripts as a potential catchphrase for the accident-prone Urkel. But the line, already ubiquitous in the late ’80s and early ’90s thanks to a commercial for medical alarm company Life Alert, never hit the way “Did I do that?” would.

“We did about three of them, and ‘Did I do that?’ just stuck,” White said, adding that the success of the catchphrase really came down to the response ofFamily Matters’ live studio audience.

“It’s one of those things,” he explained. “You lob them out to the audience, and, you know, back then it was completely about the immediate audience reaction. You had that live studio audience to tell you in real time what was working. There was no social media.”

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Jaleel White in September 2024.Santiago Felipe/Getty

Santiago Felipe/Getty

White, who recently published amemoir,Growing Up Urkel, noted that this is something he misses most about making television in the ’90s.

“Now you’re an adult,” he continued. “You’re like, ‘No, no, no. Some of these critics gotta like your stuff if you wanna ever get to theGolden Globes.’ ”

While White never earned a Golden Globe or Emmy nomination, his breakout portrayal of Urkel did snag him a 1991 Young Artist Award and three NAACP Image Awards between 1994 and 1997.

source: people.com