Steve Harvey Once Thought He Was ‘Done’ Early in His Career until Mom of ‘The Facts of Life’ Star Saved Him

Were it not for "The Facts if Life" star Chip Fields, Steve Harvey might not have reached the heights he has attained in his successful career, and he remains ever grateful to the actress.

Steve Harvey is one of America's most successful television personalities. He is a man of multiple talents as he is an actor, author, businessman, and former standup comedian.

Harvey is the host of "The Steve Harvey Show," "Family Feud," and the Miss Universe beauty pageant. He continues to excel in his career, but all that might not have been possible if not for one person — Chip Fields .

Chip is the mother of actresses Kim Fields and Alexis Fields. She is famous for portraying the role of the mother of Janet Jackson in the hit television series of the 1970s, "Good Times."

Her daughter, Kim, appeared on that series as a guest star though she and her mom never appeared in the same episode. However, that was not the only series the mother-daughter duo starred in.

Chip and Kim also starred in NBC's hit series "Facts of Life," where the former portrayed her daughter's mom on an episode. In a chat with Jet Magazine, Chip narrated the experience of playing her daughter's mom on set.

She said it was nerve-wracking at first because she was under the pressure of being too young-looking to be Kim's mom. Hence, she used some of her younger daughter, Alexis' baby powder, around the temple and wore her highest heels for the interview.

Fans got to know how important Chip was to Harvey when Kim appeared on an episode of his show in 2017.

Some of the other contenders for the role felt Chip would eventually get it because she was Kim's real-life mom, but she disagreed, saying:

"Knowing everybody over there at NBC made them scrutinize me harder and not take me seriously[...]."

Working with Kim on the show was an educational experience for Chip. She admitted to meeting the teenage Kim on the show and saw why she demanded certain spaces at home as it took a very mature child to survive on the set.

Meanwhile, Kim said it was a strange experience working with her mom. Hence, she distanced herself from Chip all week because she was unsure of what to expect.

One may be wondering what the connection between Harvey and Chip is. The truth is, the television personality holds Kim's mom in the highest regard.

Fans got to know how important Chip was to Harvey when Kim appeared on an episode of his show in 2017. While talking to the show host, the actress mentioned her mother.

Harvey then narrated how Chip's influence helped in resurrecting his career at a time it was almost dead.

Then, Harvey exclaimed that he knew Chip too. Kim then pointed to the audience, revealing her mother was seated there. In that instant, Harvey got up from the interview and walked to meet Chip in the audience zone.

He hugged her passionately, with tears falling from his eyes. Chip was also overcome by emotions and instructed Harvey to go back on stage to continue his interview.

When he returned to the stage, an emotional Harvey repeated Chip's instructions to him and joked that she had been bossing him.

Harvey then narrated how Chip's influence helped in resurrecting his career at a time when it was almost dead. He revealed he was going to be put off TV and did not know what he was doing.

However, Chip sat with him for 12 hours and turned him into an actor overnight. He went back the next day, and it was decided that his show would still remain on TV. Before then, Harvey thought he was done but he remains grateful to Chip for saving him.

Harvey took to social media to show his appreciation to Chip. In a tweet, he said seeing her again really got him and emphasized that she saved his career. He also described her as a wonderful woman.

Soon after his show was canceled, Harvey launched his series on Facebook titled "Steve on Watch."

The show that got Harvey's career back on track was the popular and hilarious television series, "Me and The Boys," where he played a strict but loving father of three sons, portrayed by Chaz Lamar Shepard, Wayne Collins, and Benjamin LeVert respectively.

Madge Sinclair played the boys' grandmother, while Chip was instrumental to the show's success as she served as its acting coach.

Although Harvey has experienced so much success since his career took off, he has also had his fair share of disappointments. In 2019, NBC canceled his long-running talk show to make way for Kelly Clarkson's daytime program.

In a chat with Ellen Degeneres, Harvey opened up about how he felt following the cancellation of his show and said he was optimistic about entering his life's next chapter.

That next chapter involved him taking on another project. Hence, he expressed delight for Clarkson as she took over his slot. The television personality stated that he liked Clarkson and was happy for her but said he would not watch the show.

Soon after his show was canceled, Harvey launched his series on Facebook titled "Steve on Watch." He described himself as a person of faith and believed that when a door closes, another opens.

In August, Harvey added another show to his high number of television shows after ABC announced the development of a new program titled "Judge Steve Harvey."

The 10-episode primetime program would see Harvey head a new courtroom comedy reality series where he would deliver verdicts on various cases, including major disputes, minor claims, and family feuds.

Each episode would last an hour. For the show, Harvey would draw on his life experiences and some good old common sense to settle conflicts between disputing parties.