Steve Harvey Celebrates a Father's Day to Remember
Comedian continues tradition of mentoring fatherless children.
June 22, 2009 -- Comedian Steve Harvey spent his Father's Day weekend playing video games with young boys and driving around on a big ATV.
But these weren't his children he was celebrating with. They were children without fathers, a group Harvey has mentored for years in hopes of improving boys' relationships with women at an early age.
"It's about basics and about respect, which is what it boils down to," Harvey told "Good Morning America" special contributor Melissa Rycroft.
So far, it seems Harvey, one of the Kings of Comedy, has been getting through. Some of the boys even called Rycroft "m'am."
"I've learned several older men have had struggles such as mine," Jason Hardaway, 15, said. "I learned that I can learn a lot from these men."
Kerwin Hunter, 16, agreed.
"My mother always taught me to respect women a lot and make sure you always take care of your woman," he said.
While Harvey hopes to build a foundation that will stay with these boys through their dating years and beyond, he joked that women don't always make it easy.
Women, he said, "always change the rules. You all are very crafty."
"The rules always stay the same. It's the method that switches!" he said. "Wow. If I could write that book."
Tapping Into a Kid's Dream
The children's weekend with Harvey wasn't all lectures and workshops. They took time out for paintball and video games.
"The fun stuff is just to trick them that they're here to have fun," he said.
The kids also got a live history lesson on a visit to a flight school where they met the first black airline pilot and a Tuskegee airman. Harvey's goal? To teach the kids to aim high.
"I never thought I would ever meet anyone of that stature in my life," Hunter said. "That was amazing."
Harvey's advice isn't just for children. Women have been calling in to his morning radio show looking for advice, and he can't walk down the street without getting stopped for questions.
His self-help book, "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man," has sold more than 1 million copies and spent nine weeks atop The New York Times best-seller list.
"You have to tap into a kid's dream and tap into his gift," Harvey said. " When you marry those two, you have a winner."