A mustachioed comic who has been a hit on the club circuit and given shots at sitcom stardom, Steve Harvey comes from a working class African American background and his humor tends to relate life around the kitchen table. Harvey first stepped on stage in 1985 at a Cleveland club where he won the amateur night contest. He then went on the road performing at clubs throughout the US and Canada and clocking more than 120,000 miles on his car. Harvey had early TV exposure on "The Comedy Concert Hour" (The Nashville Network, 1990) and on "Comedy From the Caribbean" (A&E, 1992). In 1993, he wowed 'em at the "Just for Laughs" comedy festival in Montreal and the following year was tapped to host "It's Showtime at the Apollo", a syndicated variety series from Harlem's famed theater. He starring on the ABC sitcom "Me and the Boys", playing a widowed father of three. While the show lasted a season, it gave Harvey additional exposure. He co-hosted "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve '95" on ABC, guested on "Russell Simmons Def Comedy All-Star Jam" (HBO) and headlined "HBO Comedy Half Hour: Steve Harvey" (1995). Harvey also had a small role in the 1993 Sylvester Stallone film "Cliffhanger". In 1994, he was one of the hosts of the more serious "Diamonds in the Rough" on BET, which focused on teen-agers in housing projects. Harvey starred as a jazz musician working as a music teacher in "The Steve Harvey Show" (The WB, 1996-2002). In the 90s, he also headlined the wildly popular "Kings of Comedy" tour which Spike Lee filmed as the documentary "The Original Kings of Comedy" (2000), and which inspired his short-lived stand-up/sketch comedy series "Big Time" (2003). Harvey next appeared to good effect in the minor hit "The Fighting Temptations" (2003) opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Beyonce Knowles, and then appeared in a series of strategic supporting turns in "Love Don't Cost a Thing" (2003) and "You Got Served" (2004) before playing Cedric the Entertainer's successful and competitive brother in the otherwise uninspired comedy "Johnson Family Vacation" (2004). As the voice of the fly Buzz, Harvey provided many of the bigger laughs in the children's film "Racing Stripes" (2005) along with David Spade.
Profession(s):
Actor, comedian, broadcaster, assembly-line inspector (at Ford Motor Company), pet product salesman, insurance salesman
Sometimes Credited As:
NAACP Image Award Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series "The Steve Harvey Show" 2002
NAACP Image Award Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series "The Steve Harvey Show" 2001
NAACP Image Award Entertainer of the Year 2001
NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series "The Steve Harvey Show" 1999
NAACP Image Award Outstanding Performance in a Variety Series "It's Showtime at the Apollo" 1999
NAACP Image Award Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series "The Steve Harvey Show" 1998
2006 Stand-up performance featured in the film "Don't Trip ... He Ain't Through with Me Yet"
2005 Voiced Buzz in the animated feature "Racing Stripes"
2004 Appeared in the film "You Got Served"
2003 Played Nick Cannon father in the comedy "Love Don't Cost a Thing"
2003 Starred in his own variety show "Steve Harvey's Big Time"
2000 Served as host of the show-within-the-film in Spike Lee's "The Original Kings of Comedy"
1995 Had own comedy special on HBO
1994 Co-hosted "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 1995" (ABC)
1994 Began hosting syndicated "It's Showtime at the Apollo"
1994 - 1995 Starred on ABC sitcom "Me and the Boys"
1993 Was hit at "Just for Laughs" comedy festival in Montreal
1993 Had small role in feature film "Cliffhanger"
1985 Took a chance and won amateur night comedy contest at Cleveland club
Moved with family from West Virginia to Cleveland, Ohio
Clocked more than 120,000 miles in his car playing club dates in US and Canada
Starred on "The Steve Harvey Show" (The WB)
Participated in "The Kings of Comedy" tour
