Bea Arthur in a 1973 publicity portrait for Maude. TV studio via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain in the United States.
On February 8, 1991, Family Matters aired the episode in which Steve Urkel got a room full of teenagers dancing. Less than two months later, ABC aired an awards show featuring Jaleel White and Bea Arthur doing the same dance. “Life of the Party” episode listing · Los Angeles Times coverage from 1991
Steve gets the party dancing
In “Life of the Party,” the eighteenth episode of season two, Steve leads the other teenagers through his dance. He hikes up his trousers, bends his knees and points his fingers skyward. The partygoers pick up the moves and join in. Warner Bros. clip of the Urkel dance
The episode takes a more serious turn when Steve’s punch is spiked and Aunt Rachel comes to his aid. “Life of the Party” episode listing
Between takes, the cast had their own dance battles
When White looked back on the scene for its 30th anniversary, he remembered the cast dancing to the music they actually listened to between takes. Gary Manteer, who directed the episode, also choreographed the Urkel routine. The bit audiences saw had its own deliberate awkwardness, even while the teenagers filming it were trying to outdance one another during breaks. White’s 2021 interview
Then Bea Arthur did the Urkel
ABC broadcast the fifth annual American Comedy Awards on April 3, 1991. Arthur was already familiar to viewers as Dorothy on The Golden Girls. Here she was dancing next to the kid in suspenders from Family Matters. The Paley Center lists both among the broadcast’s hosts, and the Los Angeles Times singled out their duet in its look back at the TV season. Paley Center broadcast record · Los Angeles Times coverage from 1991
It’s easy to picture a kid trying the steps at home after that Friday-night episode. The more surprising sight was a TV veteran like Arthur joining in on national television. Did you first see the Urkel on Family Matters, or did somebody teach it to you?
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