Eddie Winslow

Infobox character
name = Edward James Arthur Winslow
colour = #DEDEE1


caption =
creator = William Bickley
Michael Warren
nickname = Eddo, E-Man
title = Ladies Man
parents = Carl Winslow (father) (1952-)
Harriette Winslow (mother) (1950-)
cause = Series cancellation
occupation = High school student (1989-1994)
Manager of "Mighty Weenie" (1993-1995)
Police officer (1997-1998)
portrayer = Darius McCrary
first = The Mama Who Came to Dinner (Mentioned in "Crimebusters")
last = Lost In Space
age = 15-24
nationality = African-American
gender = Male
family = Carl Winslow (Father), Harriette Winslow (Mother), Estelle Winslow (Grandmother), Rachel Crawford (Aunt), Laura Winslow (sister), Judith Winslow (sister)
born = birth date and age|1974|1|28 or
birth date and age|1976|11|23

Edward James Arthur Winslow (born January 28, 1974 [In the Family Matters second season episode, "Son", Harriette tells the story of when she was in labor with Eddie, and newly married with Carl, which is confirmed as his birthday] or November 23, 1976 [In a final season episode, Eddie is 21 years old on his birthday] ) was a supporting character portrayed by singer/actor Darius McCrary on the American sitcom "Family Matters" from 1989-1998. In the series, he was the teen-aged son and eldest child of Carl and Harriette Winslow.

Background

During the early years of "Family Matters", Edward —- or Eddie, as he was commonly known -— is a typical teenage boy, whose main interests were cars; girls; and pulling hijinks typical of boys his age. While intelligent, he proved to not be a great student, earning only average grades (although once, a friend of his changed his grades by hacking into the school's computer system).

Often, his judgement was not the best, and this frequently landed him in trouble. Several times, he developed a gambling habit, which landed him in trouble with a pool shark, a bookie, and the law; in the latter instance, he tried to gamble at an illegal casino to pay for repairs to the family car, which he damaged while driving without a license. Other times, he let other people take the blame for his mistakes (such as the time he said nothing when the nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel, told Carl "he" drove the family car through the front of the house, when -- in fact -- Eddie was the guilty one).

Eddie's father, Carl, often came down very hard on him, something that frustrated him to the point that, more than once, he threatened to move out of the house (one time, Eddie actually did move out). However, Eddie would eventually see the error of his ways, and make up with his father. He often got along with his mother, Harriette, while having typical "brother/sister" relationships with his younger sisters, Laura and Judy.

In time, Eddie gained maturity, even coming to his father when something wasn't right; for instance, he told his father he had been scammed by a con artist, who promised him and a friend a chance to meet members of the Chicago Bulls. However, he still was prone to late-night carousing and other mistakes. The latter trait almost backfired seriously when Eddie was the victim of a harrowing racial profiling incident with two overzealous Caucasian police officers. Carl -— knowing his son had a tendency to stretch the truth —- is skeptical at first, thinking it to have been an excuse for more misbehavior, but then Carl learns his son had told him the truth.

During the early years of "Family Matters", Eddie liked to play basketball. In fact, one of his dreams was to become a basketball player in college, and possibly be drafted into the NBA. While basketball remains one of his passions in later years, he re-assessed those dreams when a former college standout told him about the pitfalls of putting sports before academics in college.

Eddie —- who worked for several years in a management position at the "Mighty Weenie" restaurant -— enrolls in college, but his academic skills are still meager, and eventually realizes his life-long dream is to follow in his father's footsteps: law enforcement. During the final season, Eddie attends the police academy, and is hired by the Chicago Police Department as a rookie officer. Eddie is progressing well in his new profession, which is detoured for a short time when his overprotective mother, Harriette, has him transferred to meter-maid duty. It is then that Eddie is grazed by an armed robber's bullet; he is nonetheless able to capture him.

Friends and adversaries

teve Urkel

Like the rest of his family, Eddie's relationship with next-door neighbor Steve Urkel — who is two years younger than him and the same age as Laura — evolved. During the early years, Eddie felt little more than pity for Urkel, and like Laura and Carl, thought of him as annoying; Urkel, meanwhile, idolized Eddie and (perhaps thinking of him as a big brother) considered him his "best bud." However, Eddie was grateful for tutoring help the math-whiz Urkel gave him, and he felt obligated to protect him from a bully that threatened him with serious harm.

As the years progressed, Eddie warmed up to Urkel and eventually accepted him as a loyal and true friend. Frequently the two, along with other friends such as Waldo Faldo, would engage in various capers and wound up sticking up for each other. Eddie and Urkel would also help each other resolve various personal crises.

Girlfriends

Eddie's first regular girlfriend was Jolene (played by Bridgid Coulter), who was seen in three episodes during the series' second season. Later, Eddie began dating Oneshia (Mari Morrow) during the second and third season, but they broke up after Eddie learned (thanks to Urkel's loose lips) that she was dating on the sly.

Toward the end of Season 6, Eddie began dating Greta McClure (Tammy Townsend), who became his longest-lasting girlfriend. Greta was the daughter of Eddie's boss at the Mighty Weenie, and he did not approve of the relationship. However, Greta continued dating Eddie, despite her father's eventual withdrawal of financial support for college and Urkel (at one point) acting as a go-between. The two became a permanent couple (as of the series' finale, they were still dating).

Friends

Early in the series, Eddie's best friend was Rodney Beckett (Randy Joselynn, one of the series' few white regulars). Later on, Eddie became friends with Waldo Geraldo Faldo (Shawn Harrison), best known for his dim-wittedness. Urkel was frequently caught up in both pairs' capers.

Eddie is also friends with Alex Park, whom he calls "Weasel", played by Shavar Ross. Weasel happens to be a hard-headed, troublemaking best friend, who likes moon meter-maids, and once won an award for most days in detention.

Myrtle Urkel

Urkel's cousin, Myrtyle Mae Urkel (played by Jaleel White), was a southern belle from Mississippi. Appearing for the first time in the episode "Cousin Urkel," Myrtle fell in love with Eddie at first sight, despite Eddie's obvious dislike for her. Like Urkel did in his pursuit for Laura, Myrtle frequently went to great lengths to capture the object of her affection, such as sneaking into Eddie's bedroom at night and trying to kiss him. However, unlike Steve, who respected Laura's personal space, Myrtle would never leave Eddie alone, much to Eddie's extreme terror.

After several years away, Myrtle returned to Chicago to visit Urkel and renew her pursuit of Eddie; by this time, Eddie and Greta had started dating. However, Greta is more successful in warding off Myrtle than most of Laura's would-be suitors are at chasing away Urkel (despite the fact that Myrtle once won a boxing fight for Eddie's honor). Myrtle was not discouraged, and Laura even gave her a makeover to help out. However, Eddie reaffirmed his rejection of Myrtle; eventually, she relinquished her crush on Eddie.

Eddie's Birthday

* In spite of a first season episode claiming that Eddie was born in January 1974, a later episode, with Myrtle Urkel in it, stated that Eddie's Birthday was in November 1976. In between these two episodes was another one, around 1996 or 97, that stated that Eddie was too young to get into a bar. If he were born in 1974, in America, he would have been able to go in (legal age is 21) and if he were born in 1976 he wouldn't have been.

Trivia

Eddie's original name in a draft of the Perfect Strangers episode "Crimebusters", is "Steve Winslow". [http://www.perfectstrangers.tv/episodeguide62.htm] The name Steve would be reused for Steve Urkel. "Steve Winslow" was also supposed to appear in that episode.