Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Steve Harvey has carefully cultivated and expanded his brand image over the years. He began as a pure stand-up comic, then became a sitcom star. He added a clothing line, a syndicated radio show and a best-selling relationship book. That book helped land him his popular "Family Feud" hosting gig in 2009 followed by his hit daytime talk show in 2012.
Harvey, who has made Atlanta his home in recent years, is now a Middle America darling, as well as an iconic figure among African Americans.
This weekend, he is bringing his Neighborhood Awards to Atlanta for the first time, an effort near and dear to his heart because it rewards many of his fans: the local barber, the barbecue restaurant owner, the preacher, the teacher. (Buy tickets here)
He still calls them the Hoodies, the original name for his show. (It was changed to make it sound more mainstream for sponsors.)
"It's a way to reward people for their hard work in their community," Harvey said earlier this week by phone. The top community leader also receives $30,000. Atlanta's James Jones, founder and chairman of Simply United Together, an international community service organization, is in the running.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Celebrities such as Robin Thicke, Ne-yo and India.Arie will perform at the Philips Arena Saturday night. Holly Robinson Peete, Michael Ealy, Kirk Franklin, David Mann and Sommore are among the presenters.
Harvey has expanded the weekend to include a big expo at the Georgia World Congress Center. (Daily tickets are $20 or $35 for a three-day pass.) Seminars, games, step shows and the like will be available to attendees, on top of 110 booths.
He said advance sales are far better than they were when he had the show in Las Vegas. "Ninety percent of my business in terms of radio is east of the Mississippi anyway," he said. His radio show is on more than 65 radio stations nationwide in markets such as Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Detroit, Chicago, Nashville, Charlotte and Atlanta. (Check out his affiliate list here.)
"People enjoy going to Vegas," he said. "But this is more central for much of my fan base and more affordable. People can drive down from DC or up from Florida. Atlanta has a lot of hotels that gave us great discount rates."
He's still hoping to have the awards show televised on a major cable network. (He did it one year on Centric but said it was too new at the time and viewership was modest.)
The weekend will feature three comedy shows hosted by Nephew Tommy, all sold out. But Harvey two years ago "retired" from stand up to focus on his talk show. Surprisingly, he said he doesn't really miss it because he is always doing comedy on "Family Feud" and his talk show, plus the radio each day. "I am always getting a chance to practice my craft," he said. "I do miss the large crowds. I do not miss the three hour period before a show and getting ready for that. That's the most nerve racking time until that moment you walk out."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
He is currently shooting his fifth season of "Family Feud," which is pulling in massive daytime ratings, often breaking 9 million daily viewers, its best performance since people meters were put in place in 1988. Among women 25 to 54 years old, it now often beats "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune." Harvey deserves much of the credit for harnessing his own improv skills to the game and giving it fresh punch. He hopes to host for at least ten years, though if they dangle enough incentives on him, he might stick around longer.
His daytime talk show, also a rousing success that outlasted Katie Couric's, will focus on motivation and uplift for his third season starting this fall, he said. He has a third book coming out Sept. 9 called "Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success." "A lot of the shows will be based on that," he said. "We'll have a lot of motivational, exceptional people on the show."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Harvey won't sacrifice the funny, of course. That's the heart of the show. And he'll do plenty of relationship shows because that is also the bread and butter of what he's about and what daytime viewers enjoy.
While he was more or less forced to shoot his talk show in a different city and chose Chicago, he said he is open to moving it to Atlanta at some point in the future. He doesn't have a time frame for that happening just yet. "We have to find the right facility," he said. Turner Studios is where Mo'Nique shot her BET talk show in Atlanta for two seasons but given what he wants to do, he finds that space too small.
"I may have to build one out myself like Oprah did in Chicago," he said.
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