The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Jaleel White On How Urkel Saved 'Family Matters', Black Hollywood Dynamic, Bullies, Bulges + More

Episode Date: November 19, 2024

The Breakfast Club Sits Down With Jaleel White To Discuss How Urkel Saved 'Family Matters', Black Hollywood Dynamic, Bullies, And Bulges. Listen For More! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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and start listening. Wake that ass up. In the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne the guy. We are The Breakfast Club. Lauren LaRosa filling in for Jess. And we got a special guest in the building.

Yes, indeed. We got Jaleel White. Welcome. What's up, Kat? How you feeling, man? I'm doing great, man. I'm having a good morning. Good to see you, brother.

Good to see you, brother. You got your new book growing up Urkel a memoir Why you do the 80s 90s R&B cover on the front? This ain't even 80s, it's like 70s, 60s, 70s R&B No don't take me back there Early 80s That's the Mike Jack pose Why this pose?

You know I did it because for anybody who's a fan of the Stefan character they know that he was debuted in a white suit I said that. When I first saw it, I said, this is Stefan. He was debuted in a white suit. And then I love having fun on Instagram anyway. And Instagram has that meme that has all four of the greats. It was like Luther Vandross, Lionel Richie, Teddy Penegras. Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson hit it last, but of course, he hit it the biggest.

So for a black man in the 80s or born around that period, when you put that picture on the front, it just means, hey, the contents are fire. But nobody even notices on the back. I actually give you- I see you jumping around. Yeah, and on the back, I give you the high water pants and the Urkel shoes, and nobody even notices it. Nobody even notices it.

Nobody even notices it. You don't got the glasses on, that's why. Yeah, that's probably why. So you don't mind me in Carl Stefan's? It's not even notices it. Nobody even notices it. And you don't got the glasses on, that's why. Yeah, that's probably why. So you don't mind being called Stephane? It's not even about mine. It is Stephane saved my life. Like, just black women everywhere just choose to call me Stephane.

When you walked in, when he walked in, I was like, oh my god, lit up when you walked in. Does that happen to you all the time? And you were like, yeah. Because when you walked in, I instantly remember you walking on the screen and being like, oh, shoot. Like, I heard the music and everything. That, that, watch the music.

I'm trying to tell you. No, I love it. With Black Women in particular, the 24 episodes out of 215 that I did, they only keyed in on Stefan and they were just relieved that I wasn't really like that. I've always loved your story though, because you are the epitome of taking advantage

of a moment, seizing the opportunity, right? Because you were only supposed to be on one episode. One episode. Of Family Matters. How'd that happen? Ah, again, Charlamagne, I was just a black kid at one of the Sega Genesis, dawg. It really wasn't that deep.

My dad told me that I could get one of anything whenever I got a job, because I was resisting going on auditions at this point I was five foot four me was ready to play basketball. We don't get in basketball talks. Oh boy and I Really wasn't I wasn't booking jobs at age 12 too much because a lot of the stereotypical roles I just wasn't fitting it my profile. I had like I said at braces I'm five foot four and I saw this audition come through and I was like I said, I had braces, I'm five foot four, and I saw this audition come through, and I was like, I can get this job.

Like I just did. What was it, what did you see? The description I included in the book was just, you know, nerdy character, matter of fact, I was described as a Rick Moranis type. So that just shows you what the writer's room was already doing, they're casting a black kid and asking for a Rick Moranis type.

So I actually read that literally and then I went and got the best of Saturday Night Live VHS tape that we had in our house and I found Ed Grimley. And I basically was doing a black kid's version of Ed Grimley. And it wasn't really a good impersonation quite frankly, but because nobody thought that was my inspiration, it became mine. It's amazing you can't trademark, I don't wanna say a character, because I'm sure you can trademark a character,

but the mannerisms of a character. Oh, wow, that's. The voice. Did I do that? Do you know what I mean? We only think about this stuff in America, man. Right? We have it.

Did you get the second Genesis? I was always curious. Of course I got that second Genesis. Oh, you got the second Genesis. Oh, you wanted to make sure. Of course I got that second Genesis. Did you want to act? Acting was just something that I just did naturally. I've been doing it since I was three.

So did you want to do anything that your parents got you started and when you were three, it just came naturally. I didn't resist it and I enjoyed it. Of course you always enjoyed getting a day off of school to go someplace and have some fun. But as I got to be around the age of 12, I didn't really want to act anymore. I wanted to play basketball.

But once I got the show, then I started getting reps in at a different pace. And now once you get reps in, you prove yourself good at something proficient. Like I remember the exact episode where I'm like, oh, this is fun and this audience is my toy and in the episodes called the big fix where I took Laura on a date for the first time because Eddie needed to pay off a bet and I leveled this French restaurant.

Now before we get to... Oh my god I remember that episode too. Yeah that's the first episode where I'm like I can hear the audience different I can see it in my eyes when I watch that episode. Before we get into that part of it is it true that you tried out for Rudy Huxtable? Yeah, I did. That's when Rudy was for a boy. Oh, wow. It was for a boy. So there was a debate there and

you know, he obviously won out over the network at the end and Keisha got the role. And how close did you get? Oh, it came down to me and her. That's it. They auditioned us all day. I actually never forget that audition because they brought in, they always bring in like two or three options for each role, but they put us in one room for like several hours and kept pairing us

and going in and out. And I talk about that in the book as well. And then at the end they said, hey, listen, we are pressed for time. So we will take you, you, you, and you, and the rest of you, thank you for coming out. So you had all these crying kids just pouring out of that building

that had been there all day. And I remember my mom was like, she just had a huge reaction to that. She was like, if you ever react like that, you're losing an audition again. Oh you cried, you was bawling. Oh we were bawling, I mean that's a cold way to lose a job when you're seven years old.

Did you really understand, though? To be picked right in front. You know, been right in front. Because generally it happened, you know, your agent will call you, or your agent didn't call you. And my mom was never the type to call the agent also and be like, did we or did we not get the job?

And a lot of parents do that. But did you really understand at seven years old? Like, oh my God, I'm losing this job. This is like what this could be. You were just like a kid and it was like, no. So you cried? Like, what did you think? No, well we were supposed to move to New York.

So they had already talked to my parents through our agent and everything. And my dad was trying to figure out, because he was just graduating from dental school at the time, my dad was trying to figure out how to do this from New York. They had practically said the job is yours. And then a little girl came walking in.

I mean, they do that kind of stuff all the time, now that I'm an adult and I know that, but at the time it was just very shocking. And then you become a big fan of the show, right? So you're looking at the show and it's like, oh man, that could've been me, right? You're doing that, but that passes too. Yeah, especially when you end up with your own iconic role

in the future, right? I didn't even look at it that way. Seriously, I just, during that time, Sean, I mean, I'm telling you, man, it's, it's wild to watch fame now because everybody kind of believes like they can have a famous moment and it should come easy to them. But back then, like, you know, if you've got a chance to meet Magic Johnson, you got a chance to meet Janet Jackson in person, they were inaccessible. They were all talented.

They were, you know, they, there was an aura, literally. I remember the time I met Michael Jordan for the first time and he crept up behind me at the Magic Johnson Midsummer Nights Classic and it's just like, he literally had like this little glow around him, this black Jesus glow around him. And it's different now, it really is. So you didn't think you could be that,

you see what I'm saying? Now I don't think there is real celebrity now. Oh now, no, celebrity has completely been diluted. It really is. So you didn't think you could be that. You see what I'm saying? No, I don't think there is real celebrity now. Oh now, no, celebrity has completely been diluted. Yeah. It really is. I'll disagree and say there's still some people who have it. I can see it. There's certain people where they walk in

and they have that natural it factor where it's like, okay, you just, you affect the room. You know what I'm saying? Like even when Will Smith used to come in for the NBA All-Star games, like when Will was in the room, it was just different. That's his aura though. Yeah, exactly.

But that's traditional celebrity. This stuff now, like I said, it could feel real temporary and it's like, you ain't got the it factor, but you got the light on you. Right, did the cast like you? Because you went from just supposed to be in one episode to taking over the whole thing.

So did they like it? There had to be some resentment a little bit. It's like a kid, nerdy kid coming in here. Like I said, it was weird at first. The kids and I, we worked it out the easiest because they had to hear a lot of things that some of their parents are even saying. And you know, when you're a kid

and you're hearing what your parents are saying, you're just gonna follow suit with that. But Darius and Kelly and I, we became like brothers and sisters. You know, that's our puberty. So I just feel like the division really kind of took place more along the lines of the adults were the adults and the kids were the kids. Do you think that it was weird during that time, like that you knew, like you were very well aware as a kid

that you were becoming the star of the show, but you had to do so much stuff to kind of not act like you knew that. Even in the book you talk about how the introductions were on the show, and your agent would always be like, we need to rearrange these introductions because you're the star.

The world knows you're the star. You'd be like, no, let's not. Bruce will be ghost. Well, my mom didn't want to do that. My mom wanted to keep a lot of things status quo when it came to the call sheet and just pecking order. It just, it would have just disrupted the balance of the set to another degree that we didn't need.

It's almost kind of like, all right, you ever notice like, Shaq runs out last? You know what I'm saying, when Shaq and Kobe were in their prime. But then towards the end, Kobe starts running out last. And that's around the time when they broke up too. It's just like there's little ego things

that just can happen on a set that you have to ask yourself, is that the sword I want to die on? Is it worth it? You would think that at some point in life, people would understand that y'all are a team. And it doesn't matter who the star of the team is, if the team is winning. Yeah, but the magic words you say is you would think.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I would just say, after all of these years, we haven't learned that, even when you used the Shaq and Kobe example. That's, you know, you can't change the way people are gonna think when they're coming from a place of ego. You know, for me, I just, I did a lot to extend our run. Because the reality was- The show was about to get canceled. I know, but me, I just, I did a lot to extend our run because the reality was

the show was about to get canceled. I know, but there was a fact. I get it. I get it. But I'm like, I don't, you can say that. I don't need to, to, to, to lean in on that, you know, but you know, whether if it was keeping my hair, the cut the same way, I mean, it got to the point where I was sick of my own haircut or staying out of the gym, not working out, you know, that sucked from playing basketball and finally in my senior. They made you change the pants that you were wearing Yeah, they made me change the final season. It was like no more jeans. He doesn't wear any jeans So I was doing things that was I read that he's about to get messy. What'd you do? You thought I reckoned it was your bulge. Why would you ask Lauren to ask that question?

I don't care. Go ahead. Lauren, don't let this man just talk over you. I mean, he wants to talk about your bulge. I want to be, I want him to. When you said pants, it wasn't because of his pants? I was getting there. I was going to let him finish his statement.

You jumped to the bulge. Jahlil, how did I get here? Go ahead, you jumped on down his pants. Go ahead, finish. I want to let him work it out. But it was because of the packet. Right, Jahlil? That's crazy. To live, like how did I get here? How did we get here? Go ahead, you jumped on down his pants. Go ahead, finish. I want to let him work it out. But it was because of the packet. Right, Jilil?

That's crazy. Y'all don't get to sit here. He a wild boy. He a wild boy. He gives it off. He's waiting for that one. He gives it off. So back to the Bulls, go ahead.

They changed bottom line. They just said no jeans in the final season. Yeah. That was it. Oh, they didn't tell you why? They said no jeans in the final season. They said the Bulls, right? They nodded down. They did tell you that. They said they were coming to the final season. That was it. Oh, they didn't tell you why? They said no jeans in the final season. They said the bulge. Right, they nod now.

They did tell you that. They said it was under the bulge. They did tell you that. They said it was getting a little awkward to see the bulge. That's what the Pope said. Jesus. They said no jeans in the final season. Do they come to your parents and say that,

or do they come directly to you? No, at that point, I mean, come on, I'm on set and I'm getting notes from producers and you know. That was in the notes. I didn't see that note. What? You didn't see what? That's a funny ass note to tell somebody. That is an uncomfortable note.

It's like where did I look? That's hilarious. I feel like you said that in private, like you pulled my family to the side and we have a very close discussion. We talk about your son's bulge. What? Wild, B.

So things changed on the set because you didn't have a dressing room. Now I'm sure you got the biggest dressing room and all that. So how how was that change? I mean, money, I'm sorry, money change. Well, the thing about money, which was cool, is that my mom was so petrified the show would get canceled anyway that she never bought a new car for the first four seasons of the show.

Oh, wow. You know, my mom was that I think that's why I'm so passionate about the the protective job that my parents did. They did so much to try to keep me attached to normal life. Right. You know they didn't get new cars themselves. My mom demanded that I went to public school. I went to public school during the entire time. That's a little crazy. That's Steve Virgo at that time? Yeah but we didn't have cell phones. We had cell phones, but they were big bricks at that time. But we didn't have smartphones to invade the privacy to that degree and let everybody know what school he goes to, at least on a nationwide level. So I would pop into school like every two weeks to three weeks. And that was something I actually enjoyed doing,

kind of like a magic trick. And I could go go in and I could take tests I could raise my hand I could answer questions from the teacher and my peers are looking at me like how do you know this stuff is like I study on set too. How was school? Did you ever get bullied because people looked at you? Oh yeah, no there's a whole thing. You talked about it in the book. There's a whole thing it was like the first school I was attending at the time I was the only black kid at the entire school, which was awkward too. It was half Asian, it was half white, and now it's since taken over all Asian when I

go back and pass that school. And that's all the usual stuff, can I touch your hair, and not getting invited to Bob Mitzvah's and all that kind of stuff. And then that all changed as soon as I got on the show. Hey, you want to go to the liquor game with me? And my mom wants your agent number. She's thinking about putting me in the business and now I'm suddenly so popular.

So I left that school and then I went to what I like to call the Joe Clark School, the lean on me light. And in that case, I stood out a little too much. And it also raised my hand too much. And I had a teacher that liked me and I liked Miss Lasseter too. And know at schools like that they don't like those kind of relationships so ran into problems there and then my mom found the

school that was the the porch that was just warm enough for me and in three bear story analogy and and that was South Pasadena High School and they kind of had a sprinkle everybody was Asian it was Mexican it was black it was wonderful and I had a great principal named Ben Ramirez, may he rest in peace, who just kind of went out of his way to make sure that I was always welcome on campus. They didn't like the fact that your teacher was trying to make sure you were okay? What do you mean? Like you said that the school, you had a teacher that would-

No, no, no. I'm saying at her school, you can't, raising your hand a lot in Canada isn't having a great relationship with the teacher. Oh, the kids didn't like that? Oh yeah, okay. I was gonna say, why would the school not like that? Oh, you can't, raising your hand a lot in K-9 isn't having a great relationship with the teacher. Oh, the kids didn't like that? Oh yeah, okay. I was gonna say, why would the school not like that? Oh, you really a nerd, huh? Yeah, exactly.

You just bingo. But you asking a question like the last two minutes of class, though? You come, see again, she hit me with some, with some, look. She's from Delaware. You was a two minute, like two minutes left. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

you're not gonna play me like that. I wasn't asking the teacher to collect the homework, okay? I wasn't that dude. Reminding her we had tests. I wasn't reminding them we had tests. But bottom line is we had a good relationship and she was teaching stuff I'd already learned at the other school. So they were hella behind the other school. So I was just like, yo, this is easy. Oh, so you was in there showing off. Come on, I'm in the eighth grade. You know what I'm saying? That's a, it's awkward. Exactly.

But did you wish you got that treatment? I remember. Do you remember the first time we met? No, you don't remember. I don't remember. That's what you have to remind me. You can't get next cam. Now next time I remember so much about Madison square garden. Next cam. He was in Nick's cam and I was surprised cause I don't remember. We were young, young, but I was surprised because I'm like, at the time he's Steve Urkel. He's on the biggest show. I'm like his parents put him in. So why would he remember you? I'm gonna tell you. Well, I don't know.

I told you. He stand like he loved me. I was straight till I got him. Anybody could get it. Because not for nothing, I was him. I had the glasses, the braces. We was on the same team. So you identified as nerd. No, no, no. You weren't him.

This is your little wife. You were actually a nerd. He was not. I love seeing his dynamic because no one should ever take this personal thing up up in here. He shouldn't say that. He said, I was you. No, you were not if they come up in here. He said I was you. I had the glasses and braces. Let me help you out.

Any black man who didn't even look like me, if he wore glasses, he was called Steve-er. That's true. Oh Envy, you got called Steve-er. They call me metal mouth and a whole bunch of things, but I'm not going through that trouble. But the reason I say that is during basketball camp, you got into a fight. Who that scrabble with? Some Spanish dude, right? And I remember I was like, damn,

is this happening all the time when you come to the hood because people think that you're better than them? I was wondering if that always happened. Well, when you hoop, you know, like people try you, you know what I'm saying? So it's like, I took basketball seriously. So in between those lines, that's why I'm like, I don't even remember. I was there to play ball. How many fights did you get into if you don't remember? On a basketball court I didn't have a history of getting into a bunch of fights but I'm just saying like you know on the basketball court people gonna try you. I mean do you remember every frackish you got into on a basketball court? I kinda do yeah.

Oh wow. I kinda do. Cause he lost them. What you mean? He lost them. I lost a lot of them boy. If I don't remember him that means I probably did pretty good in whatever we was doing. So what did you and all the other Spanish kids do when y'all saw Jaleel beating up for the Spanish show? I'm Spanish.

I'm black, sir. I'm not Spanish. I'm black, sir. Can we get a therapist in here? Maybe he had to pick a side. Can we get a mediator? Maybe he started seeing, he said, either I'm going Urquell or I'm going my people. So which way was you?

Where was you? I was riding with Urquell. Okay. Nerve-sick together. All right. All right. But you didn't tell me how I played though. No, you was good.

You were surprisingly good. Because everybody thought. That far. Because everybody thought the nerve was going to come out, but you was good. We could tell that you played ball, but I remember you scrapping. Yeah.

Point guard, what position you play? I'm point guard. OK. Because even in your book, you talk about having your dressing room kind of like set up, like an NBA locker room. My dressing room was cool. You really wanted to go to the NBA?

Like that was like really- I don't think it was about going to the NBA. I was a huge, I mean listen, if you grew up in the 90s, the NBA just was different. It landed on your life. It was everything. Gotcha. So I, you know, once I started gaining some influence,

you know, you could do certain things and the set decorator for our show transformed the second room in my dressing room into an actual NBA locker room. So I had all the different lockers. That's dope. And that's where I would change and get ready for the show. Wow.

Did you get paid? Did you make money, money back then? Yeah, you made very good money back then. Okay, okay, okay. But the numbers back then just, they don't compare to numbers now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Inflation. It's one of my favorite things I actually have

is my first time I ever sat on the court, I kept the ticket stub and I kept them with magic shoes when he gave them to me after the game. And every now and then I'll still look at those tickets and stuff, guess how much in 1991 the face value of a Laker game on the court was, versus San Antonio Spurs. 350. Price, maybe close to a thousand.

Maybe 700, 800. This man knows basketball, 425. 425, man. That's crazy, right? For a floor seat? Yeah, for a floor. So when you put that in perspective, 1991, $425 face value on the ticket to sit on the court.

And you see what inflation is now. It really is like, I remember that teaching me about inflation was like, whoa, something's happening here because there's two inflations. There's the one they talk about to the country and then the one they talk about that's going on with the people that's making all the money. I love how you describe throughout the book,

you describe yourself as a dedicated people pleaser. You said it was your mom who made you that way. Can you expand on that a little bit? It can be good and bad to be a people pleaser because you gotta learn how to say, you gotta learn how to set boundaries, but then you gotta also learn how to say yes enough to catch blessings that are coming out of nowhere.

But for me, it's always been about the audience experience that jacked me up. You know, we taped in front of a live studio audience every Friday. And man, I looked forward to that audience like you wouldn't believe. And they just become your toy after a while. So you know, my mom would call me after a table reading, you know, every Tuesday. And I was like, what do you think of the script this week? And it was like, eh, it's okay, you know. And then there would be certain weeks like the Bruce Lee week where I'm like, what do you think of the script this week? And it was like, eh, it's okay, you know? And then there'd be certain weeks,

like the Bruce Lee week, where I'm like, oh no, get your tickets now, because sometimes you would have to play games to get a certain number of seats, especially with another, opposite another executive producer's wife who would hog a lot of seats. And I'm like, no, no, no, go ahead

and get your tickets for this one. I'm gonna melt this one down. So it was just always about just, you know, everything celebrity came from a different place than it was about being excellent, it was about being on point. We would shoot our show and we'd be done with the whole episode in just over two hours.

And I was so proud of that because everybody else on the lot, especially if they had kids on their show, it would take, shows would take three and four hours and people wouldn't even be able to see the end of the show at times. But we've been now two hours flat and we were done. So I'm still proud of that kind of stuff. What about Jaleel when he's not, you know, performing? Are you still dealing with being a people pleaser?

No, not as much. You know, when you have a, we have a daughter, at least when you have a kid and you enter the family dynamic, a lot of your values just change. They shift overnight. At least they did for me. What was the biggest thing that shifted for you overnight? Oh man, I got funny story on that one though actually. I remember when, you know, when single parents don't date. Like single parents prospect. They don't, they don't date. It's different. And I remember my boy was, he told me to come out and meet him at the club.

He had a group. At this point I'm a single dad. And I hop into my car and at the time I drove Aston Martin Rapide, which is a four door. And so I pulled up at the end and he comes walking over with three girls. And it's like, you know, what are we doing? This is before Uber, all right? This is before Uber. What are we doing?

Where are we headed? And then one of the girls just? It's before Uber. What are we doing? Where are we headed? And then one of the girls just reached for the back door and the baby seat was in the back. Oh, yeah. And the way them girls just jumped back. Really? It just threw off the whole chemistry of the rest of the night.

And it was just like, ah, okay. What matters more? As a dad, I knew, I'm like, I'm not taking that baby seat out. It's a pain in the butt putting them there, baby seats in here. And any dad who has a baby seat knows that. So I was like, well, that's just the way it's gonna be.

But that was a moment where I had to accept where I was just kind of like, she really comes first in every aspect of my life now. And like it or not, even in times when I wanna be grown and sexy, it's gonna affect it. You know what I wanted to, did, did the cast members on family matters, were they, was it a level of hate and jealousy and envious, envious, envious, envious, envious? Envious.

Envious. Envious. You know what I mean. R. It's your chance to get him. R in hindsight, were you really difficult to work with? No, absolutely not. OK.

Because Reverend Genevieve Johnson said that multiple times. OK, so let me make it easy for you then. How come you never heard that from the kids? Kelly speaks. Darius is everywhere. Darius is everywhere. How come you never heard that from the kids? Yeah.

You know, it's, you know, when you leave a show, first of all, the difference between movie stardom and TV stardom is, when you're a movie star, you're still a star, even if you don't have a movie out. When you're a TV star, unless you're on TV, you're not a star. And that's just the way the business treats you. So I think people go through a lot of personal trauma

sometimes after a show has gone off the air. Divorces, investments maybe didn't go right, et cetera, et cetera. And it causes people to look back on things with kind of a jaded look. And it was like, man, we had fun. We did, even the pictures I picked out for the book. I wanted to show pictures of us chilling.

I wanted to show me, Reggie, and Darius, chilling in Paris when we shot two episodes in Paris. We're the only black show to ever shoot in Europe. That was a big deal. We had this, I'll never forget, we had this giant $12,000 meal at the top of the Eiffel Tower as a cast. Oh, I'm glad you asked.

My mom took that bill and handed it to production because she had the clout to do that. But JoBerry's there, Reggie's there, well, we was ballin' at the top, but again you ballin'. So you know it's almost kind of like when you hear Scottie Pittman talking about the Bulls now. It's like Scottie you can't say nothing nice about the Bulls. Nigga you was rock stars dawg. You and Mike didn't kick it at all, are you sure?

That's how you remember it? Have you recently talked to any of the cast? Because I know Joe Marie Payton, like she had come out and said that you guys Had a little whatever that's it's why don't want to fight each other Yeah, like can you first of all clarify that story because that's just a wild notice. There's nothing to clarify like a Yet, I'm talking about a co-worker of over 30 years ago and I was a minor you don't think if there was any validity of that they wouldn't come out I'm like, so now? So 100% nothing happened.

I mean, 1000%. No. But I'm not getting in the back and forth. I'm sorry. I'm just doing too good. I get what you're saying. Getting back and forth with a woman who's over 70. And I've been kind of like mentally ingrained to not fight with my elders. Like, all right, if that's the way you saw it, cool. It is what it is. Well, she recently said on a stage, I think, I forget where they were at, but the cast was there and you weren't there, and she said that, like, you know,

she wished that you were there, and if you were there, she would hug you, and she kinda, you know, that whole thing. So have y'all talked, or is there? Why does what she have to say hold so much more validity than what my other cast members have to say? I'm just curious. I think, oh, I think that the age thing does play a factor.

70-year-old black woman. Yeah, what you said, you know what I mean? I think that definitely plays a factor as well. But I think she's one of the first people that alleged like the bad stuff that I saw come out and be like, man we should just hug it out. It made me wonder like have y'all talk, like what changed? So the people that I talk to regularly is Kelly and Darius. And again I don't call them Laura and Eddie. So I, you know, I called Kelly about this book.

We spoke extensively, and Kelly called me two weeks ago. But it's weird for us, by the way, also, when we go out and eat or anything like that. We like little back rooms and stuff like that. I would freak out if I saw y'all sitting down all together. Exactly. If people saw me and Kelly just at crustaceans in Beverly Hills and what, it tends to turn into a big, hey,

can I get a selfie fest? So you know. You're like, damn, hey, can I get a selfie fest? Right. So, you know. You're like, damn, we're going to one. You really gotta. You gotta. So, you know, we keep it private, but I have a very good relationship with all the cast members who've ever wanted a relationship with me beyond the show. And I don't have anything negative to say about Reggie.

When people ask me, who was your favorite scene partner? I'm like, the chemistry I had with Reginald Vail Johnson, I remember the episode where it clicked for us. It's called Boxcar Blues, where we were stuck in a train together with all these cows and Steve is just getting on his nerves. And Reggie just couldn't look at me without breaking up, without breaking character.

And we just, we developed this amazing chemistry, but adults are adults, and they're going through adult things too. And also, I'm a kid, so you know what? I'll tell you one way maybe I could have been annoying. I dribble my basketball everywhere. Everywhere. If I was in school, it's,

Jaleel, we need you on set. Boom, boom, boom. Basketball, basketball, basketball. Well, adults get annoyed when a kid is just dribbling and bouncing the ball all over the place. Is that difficult? How old you at? You talking about 13, 14 years old? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I would feel like adults would have a little bit more great

standing. I'm approaching it from a very self-aware standpoint. So I'm like, okay, yeah. And I remember Joyce Webb, one of our script supervisors, be like, oh, here it comes with the basketball. Okay. But if that translates 25 years later to being difficult, I'll take it. I want to talk about your first kiss. Let's talk about your first kiss, because nowadays, everybody would be getting arrested

in the nowadays if that was it. So. No, it wouldn't, because he's a guy. Oh. They don't do that to guys. Exactly. So break down your first kiss. Exactly.

13 years old, on set. He's ahead of me on this one. We had a scene where Steve and Eddie get hot at the dice table and they're rolling the dice and this woman is supposed to give me a kiss, just plant one on me before my last dice roll. And during rehearsals all week she had just pretty much given me a peck. It was just a peck? Yeah, because you just go through the motions, but with that hot live studio audience there,

man, she just, yo, she gave me the whole shebang. And so when I pulled back- And this was your first time kissing? Yeah, I had never kissed a girl before. How about I say, how did you know what to do? No, I didn't, I wasn't, first of all, I wasn't even planning for that. I know you're supposed to put your lips together, but I didn't know that anything else was really supposed to happen to that.

I wasn't seasoned. I was. And so she does it. And my whole, my thinking at the time was do not break character. Do not ruin a good take. You know, that's what you just kind of taught as a comedic actor and as a kid.

And so when I went to my dressing room, I just kind of involuntarily, tears started coming down my face because I was just like, that was weird. And then my dad corners me and he's like, what's wrong? Executive producer comes back, like, what's wrong? And I was just like, you know, like she put her tongue in my mouth.

Like out of life. I'm surprised your mother didn't whip her ass. You know, it's so funny, everybody says that, but it was like, my father was present and was dealing with the issue. So there was no reason to inject. And once it was revealed what happened they all started laughing. Let's start the Men Too movement. My dad's laughing.

What is her name? No, do not find this woman, do not troll this woman at all. No, I'm serious because it's like that's one of the things that I'm very protective of is you know we have to embrace what double standards were, leave them in the past, but it's okay. I can laugh at it. I'm saying from the time that it happened to my dad and the executive producer coming in,

to me walking back out on stage to do now the next scenes, even the crew, high five, she put it on you, young fella, you hung in there, you did your thing. And it was very clear to me, all the signals that I was getting was, that might've been yucky the way it on you, young fella, you hung in there. You did your thing. And it was like, it was very clear to me, all the signals that I was getting was, that might've been yucky the way it went down, but apparently I'm going to get a lot more of that. So Mama Cheesemote says, yeah, okay, all right,

go with the flow. Well, what about the trauma you went through? Because it was immediately after that scene, they told you that you can't wear pants anymore? Oh, you know what, see? I see how you're doing, I see how you're doing. You'll be here all week, tip your waitresses on the way out ladies and gentlemen. You'll be here all week, tip your waitresses on the way out, ladies and gentlemen.

You know what else I want to know, was Black Hollywood more of a community back then? Could you tell a story in the book about, you know, connecting with Malcolm Jamal Warner and putting you in the afternoons commercial, and, you know, your mom being a fan of Malcolm. So I don't know if he was... The extent...

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I feel like there's always been a calling for you, something higher. I don't know. I always feel that way as well. But I guess everybody feels they're here for a reason. Yeah? Okay. Even if it's to suffer to help other people understand suffering, it's not as bad as we believe it is.

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Well, that's when the real magic happens. So if you love hearing real, inspiring stories from the people you know, follow, and admire, join me every week for Post Run High. It's where we take the conversation beyond the run and get into the heart of it all. It's lighthearted, pretty crazy and very fun. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. The extent to which Black Hollywood was putting each other on, I won't say was more of a community. There are specific people who put a lot of people on.

Ice Cube put a lot of people on. Absolutely. That dude just like, John Singleton put a lot of people on. He identified talent. That's really the dream I kind of have for myself because I picked that up back then of being able to recognize other talent and be like, you got it, you got it. And that's a pay it forward joy that's separate and apart from actually being the focus. But back then, because there was just a lack of cell phone communication

and social media wasn't what it was, the connections were made more organically. You wrote a number down, you gave it to somebody, yeah, so I will say it was just, I don't know, it was different. Help me out on this one, because I feel like we connected on this one. So was it there, was it a real community?

It definitely was, but I'm saying to the extent that I could count on somebody having the power to give me a job, no. Got you, got you, got you. No, not that at all, but to the extent of walking in the room and seeing Tashina Arnold and Tisha Campbell, and they're like, Jaleel! Yeah, and they're like, okay, yes, yes, absolutely.

And there was also a sense of like, like being a part of an exclusive club. You know what I'm saying? It was like, you didn't walk into a room and see another black TV star and just sit at your table and just be like, oh, he's over there. You typically were gonna get up and you were gonna, you know,

you were gonna greet each other, dress each other and probably exchange information. Was that because there wasn't a lot of people, like it was just like, you guys were the cream of the crop? It wasn't a lot. It wasn't even like, there was, you know, what we're missing now is everything is niche program. So very few people are always talking about the same thing

at the same time. Like today, all anybody's talking about from a cultural standpoint is Mike Tyson's ass cheeks. Because we all saw that at the same time. So, you know, exactly. So it was like even the Stefan moment where it was just like a lot of black families saw that at the same time

when it aired. So they calling each other on each other, girl, you got to see him in his white suit. So it's a different connection back there, man. And I'm like, yeah, it was special. Do you get tired of the Steve Urkel character? Cause I'm sure people have to come up to you all the time and be like, say the line.

Well, in the book you say nothing makes you happy and then when somebody recognizes you as Jale and be like, say the line. Well in the book you say nothing makes you happier than when somebody recognizes you as Jaleel. Well that makes me happy, you know, when that happens and I kinda got saved by millennials. You know, the Gouglet has helped me, it really has. I can hear tone and I try to talk about that in the book. So, you know, if a southern grandmother comes up to me

and she's referencing the character, that doesn't bother me as much. As compared to some guys in a bar who, you know, they have a sausage press in the corner and we're doing well over here and they want to bring light to that and say, okay, I see what you're doing now. Those are two completely different things in terms of being tired of the character. He said, we're doing well over here. Basically, we got all the ladies over here. Okay, every single lady in the club is with us, all right? You know what I'm saying?

So that part is obvious, what the dichotomy is there. But people come up to me for a variety of different reasons, man. Like your man outside, he was just like, yo, I know about the Oracle stuff, but I'm here for Sonic. I did the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog for 100 episodes and that lands hugely with a lot of people. I did two episodes of Psych that people just love those two episodes of Psych. So for me it's a conveyor belt of people

acknowledging me for different things and as you get older, like I said, with my focus being on my daughter, I'm a game show host now, I'm just like, look, as long as you pleasant and you chill and you're respectful of my family and my environment, I just love being known for a good reason. Because in this day and age,

you could be known for a real sucker reason. That's right. Any day, like it's wild, the sucker reasons you could be known for. You know, it's interesting what you said even about being a black people all can come down on one moment. Cause I think about that even with you as a star, right? Like you have to be a certain caliber of star

for us to know your real name. But you know what I'm saying? Like for you to play Urkel so well that we know who Jaleel White is, that says a lot. I appreciate it. You know what's crazy though? For a long time, maybe because I was so young, I didn't know that Jaleel White was your real name.

I thought that that was another person outside the same time. You didn't have internet? I did, but like I was so young. I just, I don't know, I was confused. She grew up reading critics. She didn't want TV. I thought it was Urkel, and then I knew the Cephon, and then when I started hearing Jilil White,

I'm like, oh, maybe this is another persona that he's taking on. And then I got old enough to really understand, like, characters and like, it not being really you and like all that, and I was like, oh, okay. That was just like a me moment, yeah. I'm just glad the light went on. Thank you. But speaking of, right. You got the like a me moment, yeah. I'm just glad the light went on. Thank you.

But speaking of right. You got the internet fixed. My AOL dial up, that was back in them days. Okay. That was Netflix this weekend. That was Netflix this weekend. Speaking of though, I know in the book you talk about the meeting that you had with the exec

about the remake or the spinoff. The reboot. The reboot. Your version that you want it to happen in my opinion was way better I don't know if you want to say it you want people to read book but I think was way better than what they had pitched to you thank you well I guess we have to talk about it because I want to know that will we ever get that and can you could you do that on your own listen

first of all you can't do it on your own you know that's the thing about television that people have to respect it's you know it's the only art form I feel that still has gatekeeping still very much in place and you can either be bitter about it or you can fight the good fight and look for the person that's gonna be your champion. That's just it is what it is. I was never offered a reboot. I always want to make that very clear and even my vision for the show that I have, it's not about me.

It's about three dimensional characters that would actually resonate and translate in 2024 because I worked for the producers who coined the phrase, jump the shark. Bonzi jumped the shark. He jumped over a shark, right? Those are my producers, the exact same producers. So you're not going to invite me to jump the shark again

I was offered a blind contract and Half my pay of what I got for the last episode and there was no consideration I mean I there was no consideration given to the adults that actually You know have such a large opinion over what terms they would return to I'm like actually have such a large opinion over what terms they would return to. I'm like, the way they were being discussed was, well, you know, Harriet and Carl will come by and they'll visit the new family every now and then. Hollywood doesn't really, they engage talent when they need talent. They pay talent when they need talent.

And this isn't even a black thing. I don't want this to turn into a black thing. I'll hear guys like Chris Pine or whatever who's you know he's like I don't know what they're gonna do next with Star Trek. Like I love playing the character but when they call me they call me. So I'd love the opportunity to make the show that I envisioned that was never turned down, it was never pitched. I was just offered a blind contract and around that they were going to develop the reboot. There were two versions though, correct me if I'm wrong, right?

Because you said one of them you wanted to do like what's the Netflix show with the kid? The little kid that we follow is super smart. Young Sheldon. Yes, Young Sheldon. Oh yeah, yeah. There was one version that was kind of going to be like the Young Sheldon from like a different perspective and then there was another version where it would be you and now you're an adult and you are in a relationship but then Myra is still around

at that point or something, wasn't there two versions? No, I'll simplify it. I really feel like it could be like a young rock to be quite honest. The only difference is imagine if the young rock had started off famous and then gets into reality. You still wanna keep it light, you know what I'm saying? But I just, if you do a half hour comedy,

where are the stories gonna come from? They literally just used to make it up back in the day. And they would take stories too from old sitcoms, and Happy Days, whatever, and they'd dust them off, and they'd just update them a little bit. You can't do that in 2024. You're gonna watch for one episode and you're gonna turn that off. I asked a reporter recently, I said, well, in the traditional reboot that

everybody thinks that they want, where Steve and Laura get married and have a kid that's just like Urkel, would you watch that? And he said, yeah, for about four minutes. I said, okay, thank you for being honest with me. If I do anything, I am an advocate of kids. I see exactly how young performers get derailed. I want to push the agenda. I want to push the legend for a kid to come play a future version of me. Whatever that turns out to be, that kid's got to be able to get invited to the Golden Globes. That kid's got to be able to get invited to the Emmys. And he can't look back at me and I'm a stain on his career. You know what I'm saying?

It's like, I will point this out, but I won't say names because I don't want to even make them feel bad. But like the kids on Fuller House, they don't work. Fuller House, the reboot, they don't work. The adults that put them in that role, they knew. They wouldn't work in prestige television, in prestige film, because now casting directors will say, oh, those are the kids from Fuller House. We want somebody with a fresh face, et cetera, et cetera. And I promise you, as parents and as kids, they didn't go into that project thinking

that that was going to be a blight on their career as soon as the show was over. They didn't go into that. I wanna make sure anybody that I work with, know they go in with open eyes, this is what we stand to achieve. And it was so awesome watching Will Smith give it up to Quincy Jones after all these years when Quincy passed.

Because Quincy touched his life in a positive way with the Fresh Prince. He never had to look back on the Fresh Prince like it was this show he needed to get away from. So I don't know. That's my take on what my, how I feel about reboots and opportunities. But let me ask you,

what was Urkel, I was gonna ask, was that a stain on your career where you had to lose Urkel because people always looked at you when you were in the roles? Again, I don't look at it as a, I've never stopped working. It's a tough business just to work in.

Is it easier for some with better reps and different imaging? Yeah. When I think of Harry Potter or Al Bundy, I think about those guys and those characters, but they had better reps and different images and it hasn't slowed them down at all. As far as the TGIF, people are concerned. I like where I've landed. I've never stopped working. Have I always gotten the dream job that I wanted?

No. But I talk about it in the book, a couple jobs, one in particular that I wanted that went on to become the worst film that year. It's like, whoa, be careful what you want. So I just, I don't know. Like I said, when my daughter got here, man, a lot of stuff just crystallized for her. That it was like, yo, let's go out here,

let's be a working dad. And it's a beautiful thing to come home with a check to take care of your kid. And you're doing it in a way where you don't have to give up your damn dignity. It's that simple. You mentioned Will Smith. Will Smith, you said was the first influential black person

to hire you to do something outside of family matters. Yeah. Break that down. How did y'all have a relationship? What did you see? I had seen Will, you know, I would always cross paths with him with NBA stuff and Will would invite me to the office,

everything when he was in his offices on 3rd Street. I saw Will coming a mile away, just like I could identify, just like I talked about Ice Cube, identifying talent and stuff like that. And I will actually just share the story as a matter of fact that I'm like, oh, I never would have shared that not to violate your privacy. But I remember Charlie Mack having me over to his dressing room when he was shooting 94. And I was just a curious dude. I love reading scripts. I love

just devouring film. And I was in his dressing room and he had a script on the table. And I asked to go, I was checking it out. And he said, oh, that's just another sci-fi movie. And I'm, I'm not going to do another sci-fi movie after this one. And I went to visit him again after that. And like a couple of weeks later. And, and when I got to the set, he wasn't there. And Charlie was like, I'm sorry, yeah, Will was supposed to be here.

But you know, Steven Spielberg sent a helicopter for him. And I'm like, oh, okay. Well that's a good reason for him to not be here to receive me. And then months and months later, after that, Will was coming out with Men in Black. And then it clicked. That was the script. That you read. For men in black. But he said he wasn't doing another sci-fi movie. So I guess that helicopter ride must have changed some opinions. So I just had this really cool relationship with Will.

He was always open doors back then to me. And when he called me on the set, he called me to be on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It just meant a lot to me because he made it his personal business to put me on the show. I got two more questions. One, when did Family Matters jump to shark?

Oh man, we probably jumped to shark somewhere around the sixth or seventh season. You don't remember what episode it was? No, I don't remember the episode. It happens gradually. You just start going into Port-au-Potty and coming out as too many characters. Before you know it, I was Elvis. We sending whole families to Paris and come back by standing on a teleportation device I think when you moved in with them, I never moved in with them You know, I never moved in with them way as long as I thought you more thought your parents you ain't got to lie to Kick it

Thought your parents went away and no I'd never moved in with them though. Oh, I never did it was about like I said It was probably around about about the six season. I just do it was you living when your parents I was always next door neighbor. I was always, they never, that was the thing again back then, they never showed Steve's parents. They always kept Steve's parents this big mystery. But they referenced it though, they said your parents moved to Russia or something like that.

Yeah, they would always reference my parents. My parents were treated the same way. Do you remember, they were followed, cheers? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Remember, Norm's wife, Vera, they never showed Vera. So they would always talk about his wife at home and that was the way you treated it back then. They never showed the gooch on different strokes.

They always talked about the gooch. So they treated Family Matters, my parents the exact same way. You couldn't do that in this day and age. This day and age wouldn't take that kind of just constant referencing mystique. They'd be like, no, no, no, bring in the parents and make sense of this. They're gonna be all on your Instagram and this day and you try to find them. I really thought you moved in with the women. That's crazy.

No. Now you never, I was watching the interview you did and you said you never got invited to none of the Hollywood parties. No, no. I mean I did, I went to a lot of nice parties but none of the like, the stuff that started gaining a lot of steam on on social media like you know the Rock Nation brunch or or obviously y'all know you talking about my man you know you the Diddy parties or whatever like no nothing organically now did you laugh I said Reginald Johnson used to get invited stop you gotta calm down you gotta you gotta you gotta calm down you can't you just never see them around, we just, we gonna slow it down for a second. You know what I'm saying?

Cause sometimes you can just be driving too fast and you're not paying attention to the, you know, to the speed limits, to the speed exactly. We in a 35 zone right now. What happened to Judy, man? How Judy just walked upstairs and- I mean I talked about it in the book. I know, I know.

I know. You don't wanna give nothing to the listeners right now. I mean, listen, how do mean I talked about it in the book. I know, I know. But I don't know. You don't want to give it nothing to the listeners right now. I mean, listen, how do you think I covered it in the book? Was I fair? Yeah. Was I fair? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What you laughing about? I'm putting it out of you now. No, no, no. No, I'm putting it out of you now. No, I'm pulling it out of you. I guess because she didn't really have a role. So it's like, you know what I mean?

I get what you're trying to say. I didn't get to that part in the book, but I'm in for her and I'm reading between the lines. Was it that they didn't think she was good to stay on the show? She didn't have a role really. That part of the family didn't matter. Damn. Jesus!

Oh my God! So in the book, how do you- Pick it up! Look, I'm only a couple chapters in, but not to give it all away, but just some of it. How do you cover it? When you ask, were you fair, did someone tell you you weren't fair in car? He wasn't wrong. Thank you.

I just like, I'm saying- He wasn't wrong. I fair kind of threw him? You wasn't wrong. Thank you. I just like, I said, hey. I said fair kind of threw me off. He wasn't wrong. Okay. All right. You know, there were a multitude of factors that went into her departure from the show that I blame all on her mother.

But there were, but as a performer, they weren't giving her storylines and she wasn't the best at delivering a joke. And so, you know, sometimes they would give her material and it would just fall flat. And if you fall flat in run-throughs, they're gonna rewrite you. And you know, we're kids back then.

So you know, kids, that's the thing, you can't roast each other nowadays, at least not in public, but trust me, kids are still roasting each other. That's never going to go away. So you know, we'd be sitting in the background and you're like, and she blows the layup. You know, it was like, you know, it's just like, you know, you can only mess up so much

and be arrogant about it in the fur coat and the Mercedes too, before somebody says enough of this. And don't forget, my producers, you know, this is a story that precedes my show. They famously fired a woman named Valerie Harper. We had a show called Valerie, and the show became The Hogan Family. And Tom Miller, may he rest in peace, walked onto the set and said, you are done. And in one foul swoop, changed the name of the show from Valerie to The Hogan Family and put the focus on Jason Bateman.

And people forget those kinds of history. So why they didn't just un just Aunt Viv Judy then? Why they didn't just bring in somebody else? Because they didn't they didn't feel like they needed the character like they we didn't have social media so they were like she's already only in one scene you know it there we've written her down as much as we possibly can there's reaches a point where the corporation does the corporation thing, it was like, well, how much are we paying her? Right. Okay, we'll just save the money.

And you don't have to answer to social media either. And the thing that I do like, where I like to address it with sensitivity is, you know, and I talk about that, I say, look, the first miracle we have in our lives is who you born to. You know, some people born on third base, you know, and in this situation, I really felt like

Jamie was born to a mother who put herself before her daughter and she had ideas of grandeur that weren't necessarily very realistic. And it sucks for Jamie that she has to wear that scarlet letter for the rest of her life. And I hope that Jamie finds peace outside of show business, to be quite honest. Show business can start to make you think

that this is the only way to make money. This is the only way to live. Like if it didn't, I talk about that with Jonathan Brandis because I, he passed away and he took his life and I just, I was very close to him at that particular time and I saw signs of someone that was really putting too much emphasis on what this business meant to his existence on earth. I got one last question. Now you got to go.

Are you a heavy? Do I have to go?, now you gotta go. You were heavy into- Do I have to go? I'm being kicked out. Yeah, they said 10 o'clock, yeah, they said 10 o'clock. Now, did you jump into cannabis early? Oh man, listen, cannabis is just something I'm really passionate about because it landed on me. That's my Plymouth Rock, it just landed on me.

I've been trying to get at the cannabis game for probably about, shoot, eight or nine years now, to be quite honest, game for probably about, shoot, eight or nine years now to be quite honest. It's been very challenging to meet the right people that are placed where they need to be placed, that care about quality, that care about diversity because they're going to change these laws and play with these laws in such a way that the big guys are going to come in and they're going to scoop it all up. Just the way they just played us with Bitcoin

It's gonna go down all the same way. So I'm lucky to have met some really cool cats We're not nationwide, but but my guy to wolf group they got uh, we're gonna have some fun Did you got a dispensary or a scran? They named a the streets then back in 2003 named a strain after my after my old character I don't even know if it was after my old character or maybe somebody was just inspired, maybe watching an episode of Family Matter. So they call the strain Purple Urkel. I've been name checked everywhere.

Rap songs, TV shows, Purple Urkel has been name checked everywhere. And people think that I made money off of it. So my brand name is It's Purple. I always like to let people know. And that actually came from a joke where it was like when people see me, they think they're being discreet sometimes where they go, oh, it's Urkel.

And I always just wanted to have something to say back, like, no, it's purple. So that's what- That's fly, I see what you did there. Yeah, so that's what It's Purple, the brand, even stands for. But we are the house of Purple Urkel. We make the best damn Purple Urkel

that anybody makes out there. Did you bring something with you? God, what'd I tell you? What am I putting? Bring the drugs next time. Bring the drugs. Bring the drugs. We make the best damn purple Urkel that anybody makes out there. Did you bring some? Left it in the damn hotel, but I'm telling you I will find you don't Myra Michelle Thomas, yes every time you careful now, that's my girl I know I was gonna say every time you talk about her is very emotional for you in it Like I feel that that's your girl, I know, I was going to say every time you talk about her, it's very emotional for you. I feel that that's your girl, right? Or was. I want to know, off camera, when you guys developed your relationship that we then saw

on camera, because it was so believable, what was that off camera relationship like, and building that for the characters on camera? How did you guys, because you were so young. Dead, nah, Michelle started off playing Malcolm Jamal Warner's girlfriend on the Cosby show. And so she was always older than me. So even though she was so small and bubbly and, you know, big, but she was, I looked at her like a little sister. I'm like a big sister.

And we just had this amazing chemistry. My mama loved her too, so that always, that made things easy. And she just made it her business to always wanna hook me up with somebody. And she introduced me to Martha's Vineyard and spending summers there. And we just had an amazing chemistry. She was just down, like everybody knew Michelle.

Everybody knew Michelle in the music business. Everybody, just everywhere we went, people loved Michelle. And unfortunately she passed away to stomach cancer and that was just a very emotional time because we just knew what she was going through as an actress yeah and that's why I always like to remind people too you know they always try to apply this typecasting narrative to me I said man listen this is a tough business if you really want me to make you a list of people who are you know trying to get to their next opportunity I can and you'll see it doesn't have as much

to do with typecasting as you think. So during the time when she went out, I just, I wish that there had been some better opportunities for her, you know what I'm saying? Like Carl Weathers just passed away, and Mandalorian was a nice thing for him, man, to have on the way out. We want people to buy the book growing up, Urkel,

but you know, it is interesting to see how much of the love y'all created off-camera. Yeah. You know. Yeah no it was it was real love man like you know I get it yes it was bumpy in the beginning especially with the adults and and and the parents of some of the kids but that's my puberty you know Derrick's is out here while in the times you know we hear that we slide each other's DMs, but that's my brother. I mean, we've all had, you know, brothers or whatever, frat brothers or college friends,

you know, bugging out or whatnot, but you don't abandon that cat. You still taking his call. Y'all just laugh it off. And that's what my relationship is with Kelly and Daris. It's very brotherly and

sisterly. And, you know, I'll always defend our entire cast, actually, for the work that we did. That's what it is. Well, Jaleel, Wyatt ladies and gentlemen growing up is out right now make sure you pick it up and thank you for joining us. It's been a long time you supposed to come here like years ago. I know I will run to you all the

airports and stuff. I'll call you on the plane. You know I always give credit to a brother though who see me at you know who's famous and you'll see me at the airport. And be like, okay, how you gonna act? And he was cool. And he was cool. Charlie, you're the famous person in this situation between you and him? Well, you know, I've had other people. I'd be Howard Stern. I've never, you know, I remember Howard Stern was sitting in coach behind me, flying to New York.

I was flying to New York to do his show. And then I got up and I actually took him some dessert and on the flight and he's like, oh, I can't believe you came back here. And then when I did the show, he was like, okay, I knew you were you came back here and And then when I did the show he was like, okay I knew you were cool dude cuz you came back to say what's up to me and coach That's so that'll happen the famous folks to is like you know, sometimes you get stuck This is before this is like before this is before private parts yeah, you gotta get home. No, no, this is before, this is like before, this is before Private Park. Sometimes you just gotta get home.

Yeah. Oh, this is before Private Park. Yeah. Oh, okay, okay, okay, okay. He had Luke, but he didn't have the bag. Oh, cause right now he's like, you better get your ass back to work. That's right.

He helicopter, I think, from building to building now. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's Jaleel White. Growing up herbal, out now. Good morning. Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club. runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests

and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, Beau. Hey, Matt. Can you believe we have a whole bunch of wicked episodes coming up? Oh, I can't wait to share all of these amazing episodes with the readers, ktis, publicists, and finalists. That's right. We're talking all things behind bringing this iconic musical to the big screen. And of course, we're taking you inside the world

of this epic movie with all the exclusive details you won't hear anywhere else. It's Wicked in a way you've never heard before. Don't miss it. And be sure to go watch Wicked in theaters starting November 22nd. Listen to Lost Culturistas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The theater is starting November 22nd. Listen to Lost Culture East on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Mike Tyson's journey to recovery reminds us that no fight is easy. With every bumpy start, each setback and moments that could have broken him, he kept pushing forward. I never knew what the spiral was coming up in my life. I never knew I was gonna go in there

and did's hopelessness in how so many millions of people feel like that but have no help. Listen to the CINO show on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search the CINO show and start listening. Welcome to Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get real and dive straight into todo lo actual y viral. We're talking music, los premios, el chisme, and all things trending in my cultura. I'm bringing you all the latest happening in our entertainment world and some fun

and impactful interviews with your favorite Latin artists, comedians, actors, and influencers. Each week we get deep and raw life stories, combos on the issues that matter to us, and it's all packed with gems, fun, straight upup comedia, and that's a song that only nuestra gente can sprinkle. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.