Beloved “Family Matters” actor Jaleel White was a fan-favorite on the iconic ’90s sitcom that left him with some damage to his vocals. White, who portrayed Steve and Steffon Urkel, was a featured guest at this year’s 90s Con in Daytona Beach, Florida. On Sunday, Sept. 15, he spoke on a panel moderated by “Halloweentown” star Kimberly J. Brown. Jaleel White opens up about the “damage” he suffered playing Steve Urkel on “Family Matters.” (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic) According to People, the two spoke about the 47-year-old’s career as the nation’s favorite nerdy neighbor. White went on to reveal the “high pitched, nasally” voice that became synonymous with his character actually “damaged” his voice. He said he met with a doctor and learned, “What happened is during puberty, I spoke at the same pitch for extended periods of time. If the pitch had been going all over the place, I wouldn’t have damaged it quite as much.” He added, “It’s been in remission and I’m fine now.” White, who joined the cast of the hit show when he was 12, told Brown that the voice issues got bad when he was around “15 to 16 years old.” “I felt like I was really losing it. I would constantly get network notes like, ‘We can’t hear him. Please be more clear,” White revealed. “It was kind of a scary thing for me to go through.” He told the audience that he didn’t work with a vocal coach during his time on the show, so wasn’t aware of the correct way to protect his voice. People magazine also shared that White, who’s now the host of the “The Flip Side” game show, now works with a vocal coach and doctor to help keep his vocal cords protected and “get it under control.” White expressed no regrets in response to whether he would have changed the famous Urkel voice. “I wouldn’t do anything differently. It was a great experience and it was a small sacrifice to make for one hell of a legacy,” he said. “Family Matters” aired from Sept. 22, 1989, until July 17, 1998. During that time, White’s voice was also a hot commodity in the animated world as he was the voice of Sonic from “Sonic the Hedgehog” from 1993 to 1996. Although he has had various roles throughout his nearly 40-year career, White is best known as the genius pest Urkel. However, that wasn’t supposed to be the case. In a 2021 episode of TVOne’s Uncensored, White revealed that his suspender-clad character was only supposed to appear on the sitcom once. But his infectious personality and “did I do that?” tagline caught America by surprise, and the writers kept him, unknowingly making him the show’s star. He confessed that this didn’t go over well with the rest of the cast. “I was not welcomed to the cast at all,” he says in the clip. “They know what it was … I didn’t think anything of it being cast to be on ‘Family Matters’ because it was supposed to only be a guest spot, one and done.” Jaleel White's father stepped in after Jo Marie Payton and Reginald VelJohnson told Jaleel White that he was doing a disservice to the Black community for one particular scene. Don’t miss an all-new episode of #UNCENSORED this Sunday at 10P/9C pic.twitter.com/OJQd7ohXkx— TV One (@tvonetv) May 5, 2021 In the episode, White dives into the initial resistance from the “three adult” cast members, who had established careers and now felt like a child actor was overshadowing them. The “three adults” were Jo Marie Payton, who portrayed Harriette Winslow, whose character was spun off from the show “Perfect Strangers,” Vel Johnson, who portrayed Carl Winslow, had gained exposure in “Die Hard,” and Aunt Rachel, played by Thelma Hopkins, who starred on the hit ’80s sitcom “Gimme a Break!” “I didn’t see how I was stepping on anybody’s toes, I was taking anybody’s shine,” White said in the “Uncensored” special. He later added, “And I don’t need to rehash that with the adults over and over again. They know what it is.” In 2022, Payton revealed that White “wanted to physically fight” her after she opposed a scene in which he portrayed Urkel’s “gangster” cousin OGD, which stood for Original Gangsta Dawg. But she said it’s been nothing but love lately, and she expressed it during an interview with Atlanta Black Star last October. “I don’t like to rehash things. Things happen and we move on,” Payton explained, sharing that she expressed the same sentiment during an appearance at 90s Con that year. YouTube Courtesy of People “Like I said on that panel, if I saw Jaleel today and he said, ‘Hey, Jo Marie,’ I’d give him a hug. There are no hard feelings,” she added. At the expense of his voice, White made Steve Urkel one of the most recognized characters in American television history and a pop-culture icon. In his upcoming memoir, “Growing Up Urkel,” White opens up about his life as a child actor and transitioning into an adult star. The book is due to hit shelves in November. ‘They Know What It Is’: Jaleel White Reveals Shocking Battle with Adults on ‘Family Matters’ Set and Hidden ‘Damage’ of Being Steve Urkel