Biography
Who is Reginald VelJohnson?
Early life and real name
Reginald VelJohnson was born Reginald Johnson in the borough of Queens in New York City on August 16, 1952. His mother Eva worked as a nurse's aide and his father Dan served as a hospital attendant. When he was thirteen years old, his father left the family, and his mother later married John Reilly. He grew up alongside his brother Barry.
He attended Benjamin N. Cardozo High School before studying theater at New York University. During his time at the university, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He also worked with Joseph Papp's Black/Hispanic Shakespeare Company alongside fellow actors Morgan Freeman and CCH Pounder. Early in his professional path, he decided to alter his birth name so that people would remember it more easily.
How Reginald became famous
Reginald achieved his breakthrough role as Sergeant Al Powell in the 1988 action film Die Hard. The producers hired him after Gene Hackman became unavailable for the part, leading them to look for a relatively unknown actor. He traveled from New York to California for a nine-month filming schedule and eventually chose to reside in California permanently. He reprised this Sergeant Al Powell role in the 1990 sequel Die Hard 2 and voiced the character in a video game.
Following his film success, he secured the role of police officer and family patriarch Carl Winslow on the television sitcom Family Matters in 1989. The ABC and CBS series ran until 1998 and established him as a prominent television star. His character was part of a spinoff from the show Perfect Strangers, in which he had previously made a single appearance. He starred opposite Jo Marie Payton, who played his television wife Harriette Winslow.
Career highlights
Throughout his long career, Reginald has frequently portrayed law enforcement officers on screen. His early film credits included a brief appearance as a municipal corrections officer in Ghostbusters and a role as a limo driver in Crocodile Dundee. He also appeared as Detective David Sutton in Turner & Hooch alongside Tom Hanks and played an ambulance driver in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
After the conclusion of Family Matters, he focused primarily on voice work and guest star roles across numerous television programs. His television guest appearances include The Equalizer, Monk, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He later voiced Principal Winslow in the animated series adaptation of the comic Invincible and began appearing in advertisements as TV Dad for Progressive.
Personal life
In his personal life, Reginald has never married and has no children. Over the years, he has maintained residences in multiple locations, including Raleigh in North Carolina and Los Angeles, while living primarily in Oceanside in New York. In late 2024, he competed as a celebrity on season 33 of Dancing with the Stars, where he was partnered with dancer Emma Slater and finished in tenth place.
Birthday and age
Reginald VelJohnson was born on August 16, 1952, which makes Reginald 74 years old today. That birthday falls under the Leo sign. Reginald shares the date with 41 other famous people.
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