In July 24, 2012,Sherman Hemsley died of a lung mass. So, keep reading as we pay tribute to those we lost from the show "Family Matters. Whatever Happened To The Cast Of Family Matters? Just a few short years later, she was cast in Season 4 of "Family Matters" as Myra, who for some reason, sees Urkel as the man of her dreams. She was known for her singing voice, her eccentric hats and how driven she was to become an entrepreneur. [1][12], On December 23, at age 30, Thomas died in New York City at Manhattan's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. (image viahttps://www.pinterest.com/dixon1368/). The actor who brought the character to life, Shawn Harrison, is still very much tapped into his Waldo days, marrying his own snarky humor with the iconic character's catchphrase. During her hiatus, Williams focused on other things like, most notably, working on the Kellie Williams Programs, a fine arts program she started in 2006 that was inspired by her own time with the Howard University Children's Theatre (via The Washington Post). He was survived by his wife and two children. They know what it is. We'll talk about that part later. LOAD COMMENTS Lenoir was a broadway star working as an actress, producer and even casting agent. Kellie Shanygne Williams-Jackson [1] ( ne Williams; born March 22, 1976) is an American actress. "Who she was made everybody want to be better. Emmy-nominated actor Fred Willard was a prolific actor whose career spanned more than fifty years. He also credited the writers with taking his character from "just kind of a Black guy who was in the room" to something that more resembled the actor himself. Her character and her baby boy, Richie, moved in with the Winslow clan shortly after becoming a widow. I was unhappy about a lot of things it didn't mean I did not want to perform as an actress or an artist. On December 22, 1998, she passed away, surrounded by friends and family in New York City, including her then long-time boyfriend/ Cosby Show actor, Malcolm Jamal Warner ("Theo"). Harrisons latest role was in 2018 when he played Reverend Ike in Uncle Eds Bucket List. But, the actor isn't done with Hollywood yet. These Celebs May Star in True Detective Second Season, Its a Boy Meets World Reunion on Girl Meets World, Patti Labelle Joins American Horror Story Cast, Five Things We Can Expect on the Netflix Full House Reboot, 20 Female Celebrities Who Had Children in Their 40s, 20 Child Celebrities Who Tragically Died too Young, 20 of Our Favorite Celebrities from Toronto. Harriette is a very conservative and strong-willed woman. He played Peaches in several episodes of the series "Girlfriends" from 2002 until 2004 and voiced Timber Wolf in 16 episodes of "Legion of Super Heroes." Michelle Doris Thomas (September 23, 1968 December 23, 1998)[1][2] was an American actress. From 1988 to 1990, Thomas portrayed Justine Phillips, the girlfriend of Theo Huxtable, on The Cosby Show. Still, it was arguably her role as Max that made her more well-known. A spinoff of the hit '80s sitcom Perfect Strangers, Family Matters began life as a modest hit before morphing into one of the most successful comedies on the small screen at the time. Jo Marie Payton played the familys matriarch, Harriette Winslow. [12][20] Thomas never smoked or drank alcohol, and was a vegetarian. "Don't worry about that part. Naya Rivera was introduced to acting as a child star after she got a role in the sitcom show Family Matters. After guest spots in shows like "Sanford and Son" and "Good Times," he landed his breakout role as Detective Harris in "Barney Miller." Carry continued acting in the 1990s and through early 2000, garnering roles in such shows as "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr," "Murphy Brown," and "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place." Glass toldPop Goes the Culture TV that another actor, Rod Perry, had the role in the pilot but was picked up by another show, leaving an opening. It happened after Lauras boyfriend, Ted, got tired of Urkel trying to put the moves on his girlfriend. Per Beaumont Enterprise, when it came time for college ball, he ended up leaving his homestate for Michigan State because the University of Texas teamwas not yet integrated. [7] Her mother was her first acting coach, and coached her throughout the course of her career. The show became a major staple on network television and the classic '90s "TGIF" lineup. Maxine always tried to get Laura to do the wrong thing, but she eventually stopped doing that once she and Waldo started dating. And now, she is set to reprise her role again in the upcoming Punky Brewster" sequel series. His most notable on screen part was in the Bruce Willis blockbuster film "Die Hard," in which he played Captain Mitchell, an officer on scene who directs the SWAT team during the hostage situation. Although he has yet to land a role as popular as Eddie Winslow, hes been pretty busy. Buddy was the star of a show the Winslow family was obsessed with and Carl ended up arresting him for assault. According to his website,Wassup Shawn, Harrison created his own "Sup?" But they have been an essential function of some of the most iconic family units in small-screen comedies. Arnold Johnson is also another cast member from the sitcom show Family Matters that died in real life. On May 15, 2020, Willard died of natural causes at the age of 86. [12] Thomas was a guest host of the weekly music series Soul Train in May 1996 and March 1997. White has continued to guest star on a variety of television shows like Trial and Error and Fresh Off the Boat. In 2019, he reprised his role of Steve Urkel on the TV series, Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? He also appeared on the The Big Show Show in 2020 and the Disney Channel series Ravens Home. He has a daughter named Samaya White, who he had with ex-girlfriend Bridget Hardy. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998.A spin-off of Perfect Strangers, the series revolves around the Winslow family, a middle class black family living in Chicago, Illinois. But Waldos IQ, or lack thereof, turned him into one of the shows most lovable characters. According to Williams: I wanted to create a program similar to the one I grew up with (Howard University Childrens Theatre). Family Matters Actors You May Not Know Passed Away. He was able to make it big in the show with his silly antics. We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Shes appeared in the TV series Family Reunion, as Maybelle, and shes voicing a character also named Maybelle for the animated series The Casagrandes, which is a spin-off of 2016s animated show, The Loud House.. For the next several years, he mostly had one-off guest appearances on shows like "Hawaii Five-0," "Atlanta," "Bones," and "NCIS," while starring in a few short-lived series like "Fake It Til You Make It" and "Me, Myself and I.". From 1986. Before she was on Family Matters, Johnson was on another sitcom called Punky Brewster where she played Punkys best friend, Cherie. I don't think there's any good explanation. alongside Terry Crews and Ice Cube. Unsurprisingly, Rivera's stardom continued into adulthood, especially with her role as Santana Lopez in the musical-comedy Glee. Steve Urkel 203 Episodes 1998. These days, Foxworth is focusing on other things, including her podcast with her two sisters, "The S.H.E. Michelle Thomas' first role on television was on the hit TV series "The Cosby Show," where she played Theo's girlfriend, Justine. Of her varied career and leaving "Family Matters," Payton further told Entertainment Weekly, "The way I explain it is that, when you're a baker, you don't always want to bake cakes or cookies; you want to bake pies, you want to bake bread. [12] Her mother added that "they'd give her a sedation that was supposed to put her out for 20 minutes and she'd be asleep for four days. Family Matters attracted a lot of cast members but this article will feature some of the cast members who died in real life. Worried, her father signed her up for a theater group; this turned out to be a smart move, since Kellie started expressing her . Jaleel White. Shes continued to work as an actress, even taking on some voice roles for cartoons including Disneys short-lived, The Proud Family. "It was a slap in the face from Entertainment Weekly. She often portrayed the character as a tough mom with a witty sense of humor, but was also a no-nonsense wife to her husband, Carl. Well, youre in luck. He appeared as a comic actor, game show panelist and many more. LeNoire spent more than three decades on television with roles on "Another World," "Ryan's Hope," "Gimme a Break," and "Amen," before landing her spot in the cast of "Family Matters." She had a lot of friends in the music industry." Per his obituary inThe Hollywood Reporter, Miller's dreams of showbiz came true when he landed his first real gig as assistant to William Self at 20th Century Fox. As the character arguably most sympathetic to Steve Urkel, little Richie captured all of our hearts and reminded us that, at the end of the day, we're all human. Suddenly, the Winslows only had two children, a farce the show continued all the way through its recent reunion photoshoot with Entertainment Weekly to which, might we add, Foxworth was not invited. She was 90 years old at the time, and she left behind an impressive body of work in television, film, music, and theater. On stage, the young actress starred in Betsey Brown at the. Al Powell - Die Hard. shirt depicting Waldo, and fans who love the clips he shares on Instagram went wild, leading him to start selling them more widely. According to The Christian Post, Brown graduated from a faith-based inpatient drug recovery program in Texas called Rise Discipleship. No one is out of the shows league,, Read More These Celebs May Star in True Detective Second SeasonContinue, Ever since it was announced that Boy Meets Worlds Cory and Topanga were coming back to televisions all over the world in a new series called Girl Meets World, in which the high school sweethearts, Read More Its a Boy Meets World Reunion on Girl Meets WorldContinue, R&B legend Patti Labelle has signed on to join the cast of American Horror Storys fourth season: Freak Show. The legendary diva will be playing the recurring role as the mother of Gabourey Sidibes character, Read More Patti Labelle Joins American Horror Story CastContinue, Recently, John Stamos made an announcement that left a lot of people smiling from ear to ear. Shes reportedly filming the movies Heart of a Champion and Conundrum: Secrets Among Friends.. He spent much of the '80s in guest roles on television shows including recurring parts in "Bay City Blues" and "The New Leave It to Beaver," but it was his 1985 appearance in the classic martial arts spoof film "The Last Dragon" as Sho'Nuff, the villain in the movie, that would forever cement him a place in Hollywood history. over and got the girl of his dreams. Audiences fondly remember these characters and the actors who portrayed them. We loved him so very much.". In more recent years, Hopkins played Maybelle on the series "Family Reunion" and recently reunited with Bryton James, her onscreen son from "Family Matters," when she joined the cast of "The Young and the Restless" as private investigator Denise Tolliver. Known for. The golden age of sitcoms produced many hilarious shows, but Family Matters stands out from the pack for a couple of reasons. on some very memorable episodes, we got to know the characters on the show well, for better or for worse. Kellie Shanygne Williams spoke of just how important LeNoire was to the cast during the reunion photoshoot with Entertainment Weekly. Jo Marie Payton portrayed elevator operator Harriette Winslow on that show, and Family Matters depicted her home life with husband Carl, their three kids, plus Aunt Rachel and Mother Winslow,. Come on, man. 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