If there is one thing that most of us share in common, it’s a sense of humour, and Steve Harvey is one kind of man who is well known for offering great sense of humour through his comedy skills, thus today we are going to cover eight in depth facts about Steve Harvey’s life.
1. Birth
Steve Harvey was born in Welch, West Virginia on January 17, 1957, his parents named him Broderick Stephen Harvey. He is the son of Jesse Harvey, a coal miner, and his wife, Eloise Vera Harvey a Sunday school teacher. He grew up in Cleveland and remained a Cleveland man at heart.
2. Transcended from Zero to hero by faith
Steve Harvey grew up in poor family but they had hope and faith that tomorrow will be better. Mr Harvey made a promise to God that if he makes it in life, he will thank Him (God) and spread the word of God in his shows. Since he has become a star and well-known figure, he is keeping that promise by thanking God at the end of every show and giving his gratitude.
Mr Harvey made a leap of faith in 1985 when he was encouraged to perform at an open mic comedy. Harvey brought down the house, the next day he went on to quit his job and followed his dream. As Mr. Harvey says, “You have to jump and take a leap of faith in order to soar.”
The sacrifice that was made by Harvey made him to endure the consequences which led him to become a star we know today. He became homeless and started to live in a car, he would travel the country doing his performance.
Mr Harvey made his break through in 1990 when he won a national comedy competition at Showtime at the Apollo. Now Mr Harvey is well known worldwide for his comedy shows, for acting in Hollywood movies and hosting TV shows like family feud.
3. Mr Harvey is inspired to inspire.
Apart from being a TV and Hollywood star, Mr Harvey is interested in helping others to become better, he is an inspiration to many people, as he said, “My gift is comedy, but my purpose is to inspire people”. His desire to inspire made Steve to start Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation which helps underprivileged children to reach their success.
The Steve and Marjorie Foundation has mentoring programs including The Steve Harvey Mentoring Program for Young Men and Girls Who Rule the World. The Foundation has partnered with Walt Disney world to formulate the Disney Dreamers Academy, a program mentoring teenage boys and girls, exposing them to job skills and career opportunities. Their Foundation impacts over three thousand families every year through their mentorship and financial aid.
4. Mr Harvey’s career
Mr Harvey’s career started when he started to do stand-up comedy in the 80s. In 1997 he started touring as the King of Comedy alongside Cedric the Entertainer, the late Bernie Mac and D.L. Hughley, it’s success led to an initiation of “The Original Kings of Comedy” — directed by Spike Lee.
Mr Harvey released two DVDs of Comedy in 2006 and 2008 which were named “Don’t Trip…He Ain’t Through With Me Yet” and “Steve Harvey: Still Trippin’, to critical acclaim” respectively.
Mr Harvey ended his 27 year stand up comedy career in August, 2012, when he performed at MGM in Las Vegas, the show was air live for Pay-per-view as well.
5. Mr Harvey, the first African American to host TV shows.
Steve Harvey is the first African American to host TV shows in United states which opened a door to future African Americans to join the TV shows industry. Until now, he has hosted more than 14 TV shows, he is the first person to ever host competitive TV shows at the same time.
Here is the list of TV shows hosted by Steve Harvey:
Steve Harvey show,
It’s Showtime at the Apollo,
ABC’s Me and the Boys,
The WB’s The Steve Harvey Show,
Steve Harvey’s Big Time Challenge, Family Feud,
Celebrity Family Feud,
Steve,
Little Big Shots,
Little Big Shots: Forever Young, Steve Harvey’s Funderdome,
Miss Universe,
New Year’s Eve with Steve Harvey,
And NFL Honors
Steve Harvey has moved his TV shows to Africa, he is hosted his first African show in South Africa called “family feud Africa” which started airing on e.tv South Africa which started this year 2020, the TV show welcomes families from Ghana and South Africa.
6. He hosts radio shows and he is an author.
Steve Harvey host a radio show called The Steve Harvey morning show, which aired on more than 100 radio stations national wide. His radio show reaches over 6 million listeners nationally.
Mr Harvey is also a book writer, he is a best-selling-author, in 2009 he wrote a book called Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment, this book inspired a release of a 2012 movie called “Think like a man”.
In 2010, he released Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find, Keep, and Understand a Man, in 2014 he released another one called Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success: Discovering Your Gift and the Way to Life’s Riches, and his books were the New York’s best-selling books.
Mr Harvey’s books have been translated into 30 languages around the world led him to become a best seller author world-wide.
7. His awards
Mr Harvey has won many awards in his life, he received 14 Daytime Emmy nominations resulting in six Daytime Emmy Awards, he has received 10 NAACP Image Awards and a total of 14 nominations one of these is for hosting Little Big Shots,
He received two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host and Outstanding Talk Show Host in 2017, that very same year he received a star on Hollywood walk of fame you can find out more about Steve Harvey on his blog.
8. He is the founder of SHG
Mr Harvey is a founder of Steve Harvey Global which is profiling Hollywood brand that houses most of Steve Harvey’s TV activities, it is focused on creating and delivering entertaining and motivational content, products and experiences to audiences around the world.
SHG is a housing East One Twelve, Harvey’s in-house production company which develops and produces content across digital, documentary and feature films, animation, and scripted and unscripted TV. East One Twelve Produced Little Big Shots, Family feud, Family feud Africa and many more.
