Reginald VelJohnson (born Reginald Vel Johnson; August 16, 1952) is an
American actor. He is best known for playing policeman characters such
as Carl Winslow on the sitcom Family Matters, which ran from 1989 to
1998, and LAPD Sgt. Al Powell in the films Die Hard and Die Hard 2. He
played air traffic controller, Bob Abbot, in the 2012 film Air
Collision.VelJohnson was born Reginald Vel Johnson on August 16, 1952,
in the Queens borough of New York City, the son of Eva, a nurse’s
aid, and Dan, a hospital attendant. His father left the family, which
included Reginald's brother Barry, when Johnson was 13 years old.
Their mother subsequently married John Reilly. Johnson attended
Benjamin N. Cardozo High School where he was classmates with George
Tenet. He later obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater from New
York University, where he had a chance to work with Joseph Papp's
Black/Hispanic Shakespeare Company, in which Morgan Freeman and CCH
Pounder were among his fellow actors. Early in his acting career, he
changed his name from Reginald Vel Johnson (his birth name) to
Reginald VelJohnson. He later said he changed the spelling "because I
wanted a name people would remember."VelJohnson is known for playing
police officers in films and on television. His early career included
a brief appearance in Ghostbusters (1984) as a Municipal Corrections
Officer, and an appearance in Crocodile Dundee (1986) as a limo
driver. VelJohnson played a police officer alongside Tom Hanks in
Turner & Hooch (1989). He would also play a ambulance driver in Remo
Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985).
American actor. He is best known for playing policeman characters such
as Carl Winslow on the sitcom Family Matters, which ran from 1989 to
1998, and LAPD Sgt. Al Powell in the films Die Hard and Die Hard 2. He
played air traffic controller, Bob Abbot, in the 2012 film Air
Collision.VelJohnson was born Reginald Vel Johnson on August 16, 1952,
in the Queens borough of New York City, the son of Eva, a nurse’s
aid, and Dan, a hospital attendant. His father left the family, which
included Reginald's brother Barry, when Johnson was 13 years old.
Their mother subsequently married John Reilly. Johnson attended
Benjamin N. Cardozo High School where he was classmates with George
Tenet. He later obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater from New
York University, where he had a chance to work with Joseph Papp's
Black/Hispanic Shakespeare Company, in which Morgan Freeman and CCH
Pounder were among his fellow actors. Early in his acting career, he
changed his name from Reginald Vel Johnson (his birth name) to
Reginald VelJohnson. He later said he changed the spelling "because I
wanted a name people would remember."VelJohnson is known for playing
police officers in films and on television. His early career included
a brief appearance in Ghostbusters (1984) as a Municipal Corrections
Officer, and an appearance in Crocodile Dundee (1986) as a limo
driver. VelJohnson played a police officer alongside Tom Hanks in
Turner & Hooch (1989). He would also play a ambulance driver in Remo
Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985).
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