Name a person you are most likely to see on television at just about anytime of the day. Survey says: Steve Harvey! The iconic comedian has become one of the world’s most prolific TV personalities, evolving from a sitcom star in the late 1990s to the host of two daytime talk shows and emceeing Family Feud for the past decade, as well as its primetime celebrity edition.
Of course, the 63-year-old son of a coal miner and a teacher, born Broderick Stephen Harvey, is arguably even more famous for making one of the most infamous mistakes in live television history, which we will touch upon soon enough. However, what we would rather talk about is not what the game show host is already famous for, but, indeed, the opposite.
Name something that you may not know about about Steve Harvey. Survey says: the following seven fascinating facts about America's favorite daytime game show host.
Steve Harvey Had A Brief Boxing Career
While hosting Little Big Shots, NBC's showcase of talented youngsters, Steve Harvey "took on" 8-year-old speed boxer Evnika Saadvakass, which, despite his stunned reactions, was not his first time in the ring. Before he made a living in comedy, Harvey tried his hand at the sport, which he talked about while taking audience questions in between tapings of Family Feud. When asked why he gave up on that career, he said:
I didn't quit boxing. A Puerto Rican stopped me from boxing... That (explicit) hit me so hard, not only did I not know where I was, I didn't know who I was... I thought I was a white girl.
Steve Harvey Lived Without A Home For Years
In the earlier days of Steve Harvey's pursuit of a career in comedy, his life off the stage was no laughing matter, especially in the late 1980s when the divorced father of two struggled with homelessness. As he recalled in a 2013 profile in People, he still managed to find work and would stay in hotels that a gig would provide, but he could not afford a home other than his 1976 Ford Tempo with much of his earnings going toward alimony. It was not until he struck his big break in 1990 as host of Showtime at the Apollo when he was finally able to pull himself out of his deep financial rut.
Steve Harvey Initially Refused To Star In A Super Bowl Ad Parodying His Miss Universe Mistake
Having come a long way from his darker days, Steve Harvey has been fortunate to become the host of many notable events, such as the Miss Universe Pageant, which led to one of the more unfortunate moments of his career in 2015. He became the subject of global ridicule for accidentally announcing Miss Colombia as that year's winner when the crown actually belonged to Miss Philippines, but would eventually show his sense of humor about the situation in an ad during the Super Bowl. However, the commercial almost never came to be, according to the following quote he gave on The Meredith Vieira Show:
[I told them], 'Look, I've already made the mistake. You can't make me feel any worse about it. Now, you mean I'm gonna come out here and do a commercial for you and feel worse about it?' I told them three times, 'No,' and then they told how much they paid, and I said, 'OK.'
The T Mobile spot from 2016 sees Steve Harvey apologize "again" on behalf of Verizon Wireless for its incorrect representation of the rival mobile provider's coverage plan in a previous ad that uses colorful balls to represent the data.
Steve Harvey Reportedly Gave His Staff A Memo Asking To Not Approach Him
While he managed to outgrow this Miss Universe mistake quite gracefully, Steve Harvey would fall into controversy once again in 2017 - only this time his intentions were clear. According to Variety, a memo from Harvey instructing his daytime talk show staff to stop "ambushing" him in the office went viral, inciting public backlash over its harsh tone. The host would later admit to Entertainment Tonight that he "probably should've handled it a little bit differently," but did not regret the request, adding that he "didn't want to be in this prison anymore where I had to be in this little room, scared to go out and take a breath of fresh air without somebody approaching me."
Steve Harvey Was Not “Overly Excited” About Kenan Thompson’s Impersonation Of Him
It appears that Kenan Thompson did not get Steve Harvey's memo when he began impersonating him on Saturday Night Live. The record-breaking cast member talked to THR about how the Family Feud host would publicly express that he was not flattered by the portrayal, a common occurrence in Studio 8H. Thankfully, the former All That star added that Harvey eventually came to love the impersonation.
Steve Harvey Gives Advice On Love And More In His Books
In addition to "retired stand-up comedian" and "game show host," Steve Harvey can also add "author" to his resume. He has written several books offering his own guidance on topics ranging from achieving personal success to winning the game of love, most notably with his New York Times bestseller Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. The 2009 non-fiction book was adapted into a dramatized romantic comedy in 2012 starring Kevin Hart and Regina Hall, to name a few, and garnered a sequel two years later.
Steve Harvey Even Launched His Own Dating Site
The author's romantic philosophies actually went further than an endorsement by Hollywood by becoming the next big venture in online matchmaking. In 2014, Steve Harvey partnered with IAC, the company responsible for Match.com and Tinder to name a few, to launch his own dating site Delightful, founded on his belief that are "women are wired differently" than men when it comes to their romantic intentions, as he claimed in conversation with Forbes. He hopes that with his site, which is still in service, both male and female customers would be more fortunate in finding someone ready to find “the one.”
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