Steve Harvey was brought to tears as he recalled his humble beginnings.
The Family Feud host may be a multi-millionaire, but he wasn’t always so fortunate.
Steve worked his way to the top, beginning with small gigs that eventually led to his current success story as a multi-faceted entertainer.
In a recent Facebook Reel captioned “Never give up,” the 67-year-old shared a vulnerable story about a series of events that ultimately shot him to stardom.
In the video, Steve explained that at one point, he was living in his car and only had $35 to his name.
Steve turned to his faith to help him out of his situation, recounting a conversation he had with God one day.
Steve shares how he got his big break
“Come on, God. Man, I’ve been trying to make this dream come true. You done left me out here like this,” Steve recalled.
Steve admitted he was bawling his eyes out but felt God speak to him, telling him to “Get up, and I’ll take you places you ain’t never been.”
Steve had called to check his answering machine, and there was a message from Chuck Sutton with Showtime at the Apollo.
Chuck and his staff watched a tape of Steve performing his comedy skits and offered him a slot in their Sunday night lineup.
The only issue was that Steve didn’t have the money to fly out from Florida to New York, calling it “the most messed-up moment.”
But a series of fortune events enabled him to pursue his dream after all.
Steve gets choked up as he recalls his struggles
Steve had another message on his machine, this time from someone at The Comedy Caravan who offered him a gig in Jacksonville, Florida, the following night.
Steve was able to make the three-and-a-half-hour drive from Pensacola and earned himself $150 for the gig, and secured another gig the next night, earning an additional $150.
By this point, Steve had enough money for a roundtrip flight to Florida from New York.
While sharing the details of getting on the plane, Steve got choked up, and his eyes filled with tears.
“I got on that plane and flew,” he recalled.
“Everything I had was in two bags,” Steve confessed.
Despite his nervousness, everything worked out once he arrived at The Apollo—Steve was an instant hit with the crowd.
His skit earned him a standing ovation, and, as he shared, “I walked off stage, man, just started crying.”
Eventually, he was offered a job as the host of Amateur Night, where he says he created a bond with the audience.
“And that’s how I got on TV with my very first TV show… and I ended up being the longest-running host in the history of Showtime at The Apollo,” he told his audience in the clip.
Steve encouraged his audience to never give up, adding, “But the thing you have to keep in mind before you give up is that if you give up, the guarantee is it will never happen. That’s the guarantee of quitting.”
Steve didn’t quit, and it paid off big time
Steve’s determination, unwillingness to quit, and hard work catapulted him into a successful, multi-faceted career.
These days, it’s estimated he’s worth $200 million.
In addition to his work hosting Family Feud, The Steve Harvey Show on The WB, The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Celebrity Family Feud, the Miss Universe competition, Family Feud Africa, and his arbitration-based court comedy, Judge Steve Harvey, Steve also earns additional income from various other investments and businesses.
Steve owns L’Evate You, H by Steve Harvey, and launched The Steve Harvey Network, to name a few of his business endeavors.
Not only is Steve raking in the dough, but he helps others who are less fortunate, too.
He and his wife, Marjorie Harvey, help youths in need via the Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation, which provides global service initiatives, scholarships, programming, exposure, and mentoring in diverse communities.