Trivia: Jaleel White ascended to cult stardom during his early teenage years with a now-iconic portrayal of über-nerd Steve Urkel on the Friday-night ABC sitcom Family Matters (1989-1998). A veteran of television commercials and guest spots on various prime-time series from early childhood, White appeared as a regular on the short-lived CBS sitcom Charlie & Co. (1985-1986), starring Flip Wilson and Gladys Knight. The Urkel role, however, brought about his greatest popularity, and he landed it not long after the series first bowed in late September 1989 (appearing as early as the 12th episode). Though originally intended as a one-episode guest star, White generated massive popularity among audience members -- encouraging producers Tom Miller and Robert Boyett to rethink their strategy for the show. Urkel quickly became not only a fixture, but the program's lucky charm -- the wild card that turned it into a number one hit, much as the same producers had done with The Fonz, years prior, on Happy Days. Over the course of the program's run, White ascended to prominent billing (also mirroring the Fonzie situation). Unfortunately, as time passed, the Urkel characterization became increasingly difficult to sustain, thanks in no small part to White's accelerating age and height -- which dealt the series writers an incredibly difficult hand and forced them to figure out bizarre ways to work around this handicap (strategies included giving Urkel a "cool" alter-ego, Stefan, and affording that persona a great deal of screen time).The program wrapped in 1998, but in the meantime, White graduated from UCLA Film School, then moved into his heart's true calling -- that of screenwriting. He authored occasional teleplays for such venues as The Disney Channel and PBS, moved into big-screen work (with projects including a feature rewrite for director Joel Zwick), and continued to act on the side. Roles included lead billing in Damon Daniels' independent feature Who Made the Potatoe Salad? (2005) and a supporting contribution to the inspirational volleyball drama Green Flash (2008). He was in the low-budget Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, and in 2011 he played a teacher in Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer. In 2012 the artist formerly known as Urkel competed on the 14th season of the popular ABC reality series Dancing With the Stars.

Trivia: Many know actress Kellie Shanygne Williams for her role as Laura Winslow on the sitcom Family Matters. Williams played the role for the series' entire run, from 1989 to 1998. She then made a number of guest appearances on various TV shows like What About Joan and The Parkers, and in 2009, she became the host of the reality series Clean House.

Trivia: Born in the Bronx, Shavar Ross moved to Georgia with his mother at age six when his parents separated. Ross' father headed to Los Angeles to launch a career in show business, and it was on a visit to see his dad in Tinseltown that the youngster -- then just eight years old -- was discovered by a talent scout. He would eventually win the role of Dudley on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, launching a career that would come to include countless TV appearances on shows like Family Matters and Friday the 13th. Ross also got involved in voice acting, lending his vocal talents to various Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and completed four years of ministry school, after which he founded the Alive Church, a nondenominational Christian church in Los Angeles. He also launched his own production company, Tri-Seven Entertainment.

Trivia: During his stay at Michigan State University in the mid-1960s, Charles "Bubba" Smith achieved legendary status for his gridiron activities. The All-American defensive lineman joined the Baltimore Colts as a first-round draft choice in 1967. After playing in two Super Bowls, Smith was sidelined with a knee injury in 1972; he made a comeback the following year with the Oakland Raiders, then played with the Houston Oilers, but by 1975 his football days were over. After a few seasons as a sportscaster, Smith started a whole new career as an actor, beginning with the role of Puddin in the 1980 TV-series version of the 1977 film Semi-Tough. He went on to play regular roles in weekly TVers Open All Night (1982, as Robin) Blue Thunder (1984, as Bubba Kelsey) and Half Nelson (1985, as Beau). In films from 1983, Bubba Smith's best screen showings were as the misleadingly mild-mannered Moses Hightower in the six low-budget, high-grossing Police Academy flicks.

Trivia: African-American actor Reginald VelJohnson is the ideal choice for "urban everyman" roles: his sour-apple facial expression, bald pate, and chubby frame are perfectly suited for the many policemen and blue-collar workers he has played over the years. Beginning in small parts in films like Ghostbusters (1984), VelJohnson gained a following with supporting roles in Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Die Hard (1988). A guest spot as an undercover cop on a 1989 episode of TV's Perfect Strangers led to VelJohnson's longest professional engagement to date. In the company of former Perfect Strangers regular Jo-Marie Payton-France, Reginald VelJohnson, since the fall of 1989, starred as Chicago cop Carl Winslow on the weekly comedy series Family Matters.

Trivia: Actress Jaimee Foxworth first became introduced to TV audiences in 1989 when, at ten years old, she was cast in the sitcom Family Matters as little sister Judy Winslow. She stayed with the show for a few seasons but, as nerdy character Steve Urkel became popular, less and less time was allotted for Judy's character, and eventually the writers phased her out of the show completely. Like many child actors, Foxworth had trouble finding success as an adult actress and struggled with depression and substance abuse. She briefly entered the world of adult films and eventually developed a dependency on marijuana, which she sought rehabilitation for on the series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.