Reginald Veljohnson

Reginald VelJohnson was born on August 16, 1952, in Queens, New York, USA. His mother was a nurse’s aide, and his father worked as a hospital attendant. After his father left the family when VelJohnson was 13, his mother remarried. He attended Benjamin N. Cardozo High School before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater from New York University. During his time at NYU, he collaborated with Joseph Papp’s Black/Hispanic Shakespeare Company, where he worked alongside actors such as Morgan Freeman and CCH Pounder. Early in his career, he opted to change his surname from Johnson to VelJohnson to create a more distinctive and memorable professional name.

VelJohnson’s career is notably defined by his recurring portrayal of law enforcement characters. Early appearances included a brief role as a corrections officer in “Ghostbusters” (1984) and a limousine driver in “Crocodile Dundee” (1986). His breakthrough role came as Sergeant Al Powell in the 1988 film “Die Hard.” He secured this role after the initially cast Gene Hackman became unavailable, leading producers to seek a less-known actor. The extensive nine-month filming period in California prompted VelJohnson to relocate there permanently. He reprised his role as Sergeant Powell in the 1990 sequel “Die Hard 2” and later voiced the character in the 2002 GameCube video game “Die Hard: Vendetta.”

In 1989, VelJohnson took on the role of police officer and family patriarch Carl Winslow in the television sitcom “Family Matters,” which ran until 1998. This role, a spin-off from “Perfect Strangers,” solidified his status as a prominent television figure. Following “Family Matters,” VelJohnson continued to work extensively in voice acting and made numerous guest appearances on various TV shows, including “The Equalizer,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and “Monk.” He also had a recurring role as Pastor/Brother Haywood on “Mike & Molly” and, in 2021, voiced Principal Winslow in the animated series “Invincible,” a character named in reference to his “Family Matters” role. In September 2024, VelJohnson competed on “Dancing with the Stars” season 33, finishing in 10th place.