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Steve Harvey

 
Black Biography: Steve Harvey

comedian; actor

Personal Information

Born in West Virginia in 1957; divorced father of twin daughters.
Education: Attended Kent State University for two years.

Career

Stand-up comedian; host of syndicated television program It's Showtime at the Apollo; former morning radio host for Chicago's WGCI-FM 1996-97; star of ABC Television's Me and the Boys, 1994-95; star of Warner Brothers Television Network's The Steve Harvey Show, 1996-; released 1997 comedy album, "Steve Harvey ... Live Somewhere Down South"; performed in his own 1997 HBO Comedy Special called "Steve Harvey: One Man."

Life's Work

Though most stand-up comedians use their profession as a springboard to the entertainment big time--work in television or the movies--Steve Harvey wants to use these mediums to make him a better stand-up. Like his career goal, his road to comedic success was different than most stand-ups. Harvey was born in West Virginia in 1957 and grew up in inner-city Cleveland. After spending two years at Kent State Harvey left college, working several different factory jobs and selling life insurance. In 1984 Harvey won an amateur comedy contest and decided one year later at the age of 28 to take his act on the road.

Although most comics start their careers at an earlier age, Harvey told Tom Walter of the Commercial Appeal that his late start was beneficial: "It helped because it became the basis for my material; it's more mature than what the other guys talk about. I don't do heavy sex stuff, I don't do vulgarity. I talk about real life. I don't do blue comedy. A lot of the young guys break into the business and have nothing to talk about except the first time they (had sex), which was the week before last ... I usually touch on what's bugging me. I've got a great run on relationships. I do about 25 minutes on what women wear to bed."

After putting over 120,000 miles on his Bonneville in one year, Harvey slowly began to build a name for himself. His incessant traveling and growing name recognition led him to several appearances on the syndicated television show It's Showtime at the Apollo. Harvey prospered despite some trying circumstances, such as performing before a bitter audience in place of Public Enemy who were forced to cancel a show with no notice. Harvey was soon hosting the program while continuing his stand-up career.

His big break came at the 1993 Montreal Just For Laughs International Comedy Festival. Among the audience were executives from all the major television networks. Harvey left Montreal with a developmental contract for what would become a short-lived, but important series called Me and the Boys. The year 1993 was also pivotal for Harvey as a entrepreneur. He opened his own comedy club in Dallas, Texas, called Steve Harvey's Comedy House. The club, created just for comedians, is only the fourth African-American owned comedy club in the country.

In 1994 Harvey appeared in the ABC sitcom called Me and the Boys, starring as Steve Tower, a single male widow raising his three sons. A big component of the program was the love and respect shown between a black father and his sons. Harvey, a father of twin girls, told Clarence Waldron of Jet why this part of the show was so important: "I want America in general, all people to understand that this is a way that many of us live. We, as Black people, do first and foremost love our children. And we do make really great parents, whether we are single or married or whatever; we have a loving relationship with our children." Me and the Boys, which appeared on Tuesday nights before the ratings juggernaut Home Improvement, was the highest-rated show in its time slot and among the top 20 highest-rated shows on television. Harvey won the 1995 Peoples Choice Award for the favorite male in a new television series.

Despite its ratings success and the show's critical praise for its positive depiction of an African-American family in a sea of television drug dealers and hoodlums, ABC canceled the show. Harvey believed that though Me and the Boys was a "family hit," the network saw the success that NBC was having with more adult- oriented programming and decided to cancel the show. Harvey quickly moved on to his next project without bitterness. In addition to his stand-up act and his duties at "Showtime at the Apollo", Harvey hosted an episode of "Def Comedy Jam" and "Dick Clark's New Years Rockin Eve."

If 1995 was a busy year for Harvey, 1996 was a year in which he barely had time to sleep. In February of 1996 Harvey began hosting a morning radio show on Chicago's top-rated WGCI-FM. Harvey got up at 3:30 A.M. every Monday through Friday to host the daily program from his apartment in Los Angeles. Besides the radio program, his "Apollo" hosting duties, and a full slate of performances across the country, Harvey took on two new projects. He became a spokesperson for Denny's restaurants and was involved in all the company's media, including print, radio, and television advertising.

Harvey also was signed by Warner Brothers to create and star in a new television series. Producers and directors from sitcoms such as NewsRadio, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Moesha teamed with the comedian to create The Steve Harvey Show. Harvey played Steve Hightower, a former leader of an R&B group from the 1970s trying to teach music to students at an inner-city high school. Harvey set out to develop a show that was comical, but more thoughtful than most sitcom comedies. Evidence of this resolve was an episode of The Steve Harvey Show which united West Coast rapper Snoop Doggy Dog and East Coast producer, rapper, and C.E.O. of Bad Boy Entertainment, Sean "Puffy" Combs. The two entertainers pledged to end their rivalry in a news-conference before making an appearance on The Steve Harvey Show.

Though the show received mixed reviews in its first two seasons, Harvey again earned near unanimous praise for his role in the series. Ken Tucker, in an Entertainment Weekly article, offered his opinion of Me and the Boys and The Steve Harvey Show: "Two years ago, the enormously likable Harvey was wasted in the bland ABC sitcom Me and the Boys; this one--in which he plays a high school music teacher--is merely a tad better. But Harvey is terrific in conveying the life of a man raised on '60s soul who's trying to retain his dignity in the hip-hop '90s."

Burning the candle at both ends took its toll on a part of Harvey's career. In February of 1997 Harvey left his radio job because of differences with management and exhaustion. Despite his grueling schedule and mounting success, radio still remains an important medium for Harvey. He explained his attachment to radio in a 1997 interview with Allan Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: "To be funny on the radio is such a challenge, man. But you know why I enjoy radio? Not being funny, because I can be funny on stage, on TV, I've got a lot of avenues to do that ... Radio allows me and affords me the opportunity to share with a large number of people my feelings and thought about real issues. I think it's my ability to be serious on radio that attracts me more than anything. Because I get to stand up and say stuff for black people, on behalf of black people, and about black people. And I love that spokesman role."

The stand-up's stand-up is more than a man relentlessly driven by his own career goals. Harvey talks to young people across the country in high schools and youth detention centers about setting goals and avoiding drugs. Harvey has started another project for young people which is more personal for him. He is creating a program called the King Love Center, named after his hero Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Center is being created for young people to learn about the subjects which Harvey is constantly stressing--a positive attitude, following your dreams, and building character.

As Harvey's radio career was temporarily interrupted, his stand-up performances continued to bring him more and more recognition. The T-Neck/Island Black Music label released Harvey's comedy album entitled "Steve Harvey Live ... Down South Somewhere." The album highlights Harvey's stories about the differences between the sexes and the races in Harvey's audacious yet "clean" style. Another major event for Harvey was his December 1997 HBO Comedy Special called "Steve Harvey: One Man." Harvey hopes the special, which he believes is one of the top comedy specials of its kind, will bring him closer to his ultimate goal.

To Harvey, despite all of his others endeavors and the very real possibility of future work in films and other endorsements, he remains what he always has been--a stand-up comedian. He told the Chicago Tribune: "When they say the elite group of comedians today, I want them to have to say my name ... {I want to} go to any theater in any major city and sell it out and do my thing. And that's always been my goal. My goal has never been a sitcom. My goal has never been a movie. My goal was always to have been one of the top stand-ups in the nation."

Further Reading

Sources

  • Chicago Tribune, December 19, 1997, p. 26.
  • Commercial Appeal, March, 1997, p. E3.
  • Entertainment Weekly, September 13, 1996, p. 60.
  • Jet, November 28, 1994, p. 34.

— Michael J. Watkins

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Artist: Steve Harvey
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Steve Harvey

Similar Artists:

Influenced By:

  • Active: '90s
  • Genres: Comedy
  • Instrument: Producer Representative Album: "Live...Down South Somewhere"

Biography

Comedian Steve Harvey made himself known through a variety of avenues during the late '90s. He appeared on his own TV series, The Steve Harvey Show (playing a '70s soul singer turned high-school teacher), starred in the HBO special One Man, hosted the perennial comedy favorite It's Showtime at the Apollo, and earned a record contract through Polygram for his 1997 album debut, Live...Down South Somewhere. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Actor: Steve Harvey
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  • Born: Jan 17, 1957 in Welch, West Virginia
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: 2000s
  • Major Genres: Comedy
  • Career Highlights: The Original Kings of Comedy, Steve Harvey: Don't Trip... He Ain't Through With Me Yet!, Love Don't Cost a Thing
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Steve Harvey Show: Season 01 (1996)

Biography

A longtime standup comic in addition to his work in television and radio, outspoken funnyman Steve Harvey has time and again proven his dedication to changing the public perception of African-American humor by means of his unique gift for humor. Though his universal truth-style and observant eye have gained Harvey a loyal following with his top-rated show on the WB, Harvey still vocally articulates his frustrations with the racial sliding scale of prime-time success.

Harvey grew up in Cleveland and began his career as a standup comedian in the early '90s. With his popularity leading to a long-running stint on television's popular Showtime at the Apollo a few short years later, Harvey's small-screen career was soon on the rise and he next landed a leading role (as well as a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series) in television's Me and the Boys in 1994. With his own series, The Steve Harvey Show, close on the horizon, the comic's influence was gaining even more momentum in addition to a wider audience. And though he would earn four NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for his show, Harvey was quick to point out that that doesn't necessarily entitle him to the perks of a role in a more Caucasian-oriented sitcom. One of four black comics featured in director Spike Lee's The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), Harvey was soon joined in prime time by fellow King Bernie Mac when Mac debuted his own namesake television series in early 2001. In addition to serving as host of KKBT-FM's The Beat, Harvey frequently takes part in speaking engagements in which he stresses the importance of goals and the dangers of drugs to impressionable youths. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Steve Harvey
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Steve Harvey
Born Broderick Steven Harvey
January 17, 1957 (1957-01-17) (age 52)
Welch, West Virginia, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Comedian
Radio personality
Years active 1985–present
Official website

Broderick Steven "Steve" Harvey (born January 17, 1957)[1] is an American actor, comedian, entertainer, and radio personality. He is probably best known as the star of the WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, and as one of the four comedians featured in the Spike Lee film The Original Kings of Comedy. Currently, he is the host of The Steve Harvey Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio program. He is also the author of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment, which was released in March 2009.

Contents

Biography

Early years

Harvey is the son of Eloise and Jesse Harvey, a coal miner.[2] He moved to Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from Glenville High School in 1974.[3] He has held jobs as both an insurance salesman and a boxer.

Comedy career

He began doing stand-up comedy in the mid-1980s, and was a finalist in Second Annual Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search in 1989, eventually leading to a long stint as host of It's Showtime at the Apollo, succeeding Mark Curry in that role. His success as a stand-up comedian led to a starring role on the ABC show Me and the Boys in 1994. He would later star on the WB network show, The Steve Harvey Show, which ran from 1996 to 2002. While wildly popular in the African-American community (the show won multiple NAACP Image Awards), the show never achieved critical acclaim outside of the African-American community, a matter about which Harvey has often complained.

In 1997, Harvey continued his work in stand-up comedy, touring as one of the Kings of Comedy, along with Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley and Bernie Mac. The comedy act would later be put together into a film by Spike Lee called The Original Kings of Comedy. DVD sales of The Original Kings of Comedy and Don't Trip, He Ain't Through With Me Yet increased Harvey's popularity. Harvey released a hip hop and R&B audio CD on a record label he founded, and authored a book, Steve Harvey's Big Time. That title was also used as the name of Harvey's comedy and variety television show (later renamed Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge) which aired on The WB network from 2003 until 2005. Harvey also launched a clothing line which features the line of dress wear. In 2005 he co-starred in the movie Racing Stripes. He had appeared in the 2003 movie The Fighting Temptations.

In 2008, Harvey hosted the Disney Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey, a teen-focused personal and professional enrichment event that took place January 17–20, 2008 at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Harvey along with a team of judges chose 100 teens to attend the event.[4]

The Steve Harvey Morning Show

The Steve Harvey Morning Show
SteveHarveyMS.png
Steve Harvey Morning Show logo
Genre Comedy, Talk, Urban Adult Contemporary, R&B/Classic Soul
Running time 4 hours (approximately)
Country United States United States
Home station WBLS 107.5FM New York City
Syndicates Premiere Radio Networks and Inner City Broadcasting Corporation
Starring Steve Harvey
Shirley Strawberry
Carla Ferrell
Thomas "Nephew Tommy" Miles
Creators Steve Harvey
Rushion McDonald
Air dates since September 2000
Opening theme Steve Harvey In The Morning performed by Dave Hollister
Website steveharvey.com

Harvey is the host of his own morning radio show, The Steve Harvey Morning Show, which was originally syndicated under Radio One, Inc. broadcasting company, from September 2000 until May 2005. Despite efforts to syndicate the show nationally, ultimately, it aired only in L.A., on KKBT, and in Dallas on KBFB, with Harvey splitting his time between the Dallas and L.A. studios. As a result, Harvey and Radio One decided to part ways shortly before his contract expired. In September 2005, Harvey signed a joint syndication deal with Premiere Radio Networks and Inner City Broadcasting Corporation for a new incarnation of The Steve Harvey Morning Show. The show is based out of WBLS, in New York. In March 2009, it was announced that The Steve Harvey Morning Show will be replacing The Tom Joyner Morning Show in Chicago on WVAZ, which was Tom Joyner's flagship station.

Show cities and affiliates

Personal life

Harvey has twin daughters, Karli and Brandi (born 1982) and a son, Broderick Jr. (born 1991), from his first marriage.[5]

He has a son, Wynton (born 1997), with ex-wife Mary Lee Harvey. They divorced after 17 years together and a 10-year marriage. Harvey's ex-wife is suing him in Harris County District Court over the divorce which gave him all property and businesses and $1,000 monthly for their son.[6]

He remarried for the third time, on June 25, 2007, in Maui, to Marjorie Bridges-Woods.[citation needed]

Harvey is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc and is a born-again Christian.

Film roles

Year Title Role Notes Reference
2000 The Original Kings of Comedy Himself Host / Stand-up Comedy [7]
2003 The Fighting Temptations Miles the DJ Minor Role / Narrator [7]
2003 Love Don't Cost a Thing Dad Main Role [7]
2004 Johnson Family Vacation Mack Supporting Role [7]
2004 You Got Served Mr. Rad Supporting Role [7]
2005 Racing Stripes Buzz the Fly (voice) Main Role [7]
2009 Madea Goes to Jail Himself Cameo [8]

Awards

In 2007, Harvey won the Syndicated Personality/Show of the Year award by Radio & Records magazine. Other finalists included: Delilah, Blair Garner, Kidd Kraddick, The Lia Show and John Tesh.[9]

References

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Black Biography. Contemporary Black Biography. Copyright © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Steve Harvey" Read more