Editing Reginald VelJohnson (section)

==Career==
VelJohnson is known for playing [[police officer]]s in films and on television. His early career included a brief appearance in ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' (1984), as a municipal [[Prison officer|corrections officer]], and an appearance in ''[[Crocodile Dundee]]'' (1986) as a [[Limousine|limo]] driver.<ref name="thompson"/> VelJohnson played alongside [[Tom Hanks]], as Detective David Sutton, in ''[[Turner & Hooch]]'' (1989). He played an ambulance driver in ''[[Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins]]'' (1985) in which he was credited by the stage name Ivory Ocean.

VelJohnson had his [[breakthrough role]]<ref name="hill"/> as Sergeant Al Powell in the 1988 film ''[[Die Hard]]''. VelJohnson was hired after [[Gene Hackman]], originally hired to play the role, became unavailable, and producers decided to hire a relatively unknown actor for the part.<ref name=etinterviews/> He came from New York to California to film it for nine months, which was so long that he ended up residing in California permanently thereafter.<ref name="thompson">{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Simon |title=Reginald VelJohnson Talks 'Die Hard' At 30 And 'Crocodile Dundee' Sequel [Interview] |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2018/11/02/reginald-veljohnson-talks-die-hard-at-30-and-crocodile-dundee-sequel/ |access-date=December 18, 2019 |publisher=Forbes.com Contributor |date=November 2, 2018|archive-date=June 1, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200601233355/https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2018/11/02/reginald-veljohnson-talks-die-hard-at-30-and-crocodile-dundee-sequel/%2366ac137d1647|url-status=live}} Note: ''Forbes'' magazine in its website's legal notices states ''Forbes'' contributors are not staffers and are under no editorial oversight. They are personal blogs.</ref><ref name="dawn">{{cite news |last1=Dawn |first1=Randee |title=Reginald VelJohnson reveals how 'Die Hard' helped him get cast in 'Family Matters' |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/reginald-veljohnson-reveals-how-die-hard-helped-him-get-cast-t141448 |access-date=December 18, 2019 |work=Today |date=November 7, 2018}}</ref> He later reprised the character in the 1990 sequel ''[[Die Hard 2]]''.<ref name="thompson"/> VelJohnson again portrayed Powell in the [[GameCube]] video game ''[[Die Hard: Vendetta]]'' in 2002.

In 1989, VelJohnson was cast as police officer and family patriarch [[Carl Winslow]] in the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] (later [[CBS]]) sitcom ''[[Family Matters]]'', alongside [[Jo Marie Payton]], who played his wife Harriette Winslow. It was a spinoff of the popular show ''[[Perfect Strangers (TV series)|Perfect Strangers]]'' on which he appeared only once, though Payton appeared as a recurring guest star. He starred on the show until it ended in 1998.<ref name="hill"/><ref name="thompson"/><ref name="dawn"/> Since the end of ''Family Matters'', VelJohnson has done mostly voice and guest star work.<ref name="humormill">{{cite web|date=September 16, 2016|title=On this day in comedy... In 1952 comedian and actor Reginal VelJohnson was born!|work=The Humor Mill |url=http://humormillmag.com/day-comedy-2-4/|access-date=December 18, 2019|publisher=Humor Mill Mag}}</ref> VelJohnson has made guest appearances in several TV shows, including ''[[The Equalizer (1985 TV series)|The Equalizer]]'', ''[[Diagnosis: Murder]]'', ''[[Twice in a Lifetime (TV series)|Twice in a Lifetime]]'', ''[[Will & Grace]]'', ''[[Monk (TV series)|Monk]]'', ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'', ''[[CSI: Crime Scene Investigation]]'', ''[[Eve (U.S. TV series)|Eve]]'', ''[[Brooklyn Nine-Nine]]'', ''[[Crossing Jordan]]'', ''[[The Parkers]]'', ''[[That's So Raven]]'', and ''[[Bones (TV series)|Bones]]''. He had a minor role in the 2002 film ''[[Like Mike]]'' and a recurring role as Pastor/Brother Haywood on ''[[Mike & Molly]]''. In 2007, he appeared in the short films ''Reverse'', ''Nerve Endings'', and ''Time Upon A Once'' which were made during the reality show ''[[On the Lot]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thelot.com/episodes/?ep=2&vd=26 |title=On the Lot: Episodes |access-date=May 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070528050726/http://www.thelot.com/episodes/?ep=2&vd=26 |archive-date=May 28, 2007 }}</ref> In 2008, he appeared as the Al Powell character from the ''Die Hard'' series in an episode of [[NBC]]'s ''[[Chuck (TV series)|Chuck]]'' titled "Chuck Versus the Santa Claus", as the cousin of Big Mike ([[Mark Christopher Lawrence]]). In 2010, VelJohnson started a recurring role as Principal, later Superintendent, Strickland on the [[Disney]] [[sitcom]] ''[[I'm in the Band]]'' and [[Funnyordie.com]]'s short [[HBO]] film titled ''Just 3 Boyz'' starring [[Tim Heidecker]], [[Eric Wareheim]], and [[Zach Galifianakis]]. He has appeared in the comedy film ''The Formula'', starring alongside [[Brandon Baker]] and [[Sasha Jackson]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=William|title=Mixing 'The Formula' For Success|url=http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/movie-071512|publisher=The Hawk Eye|access-date=November 14, 2012}}</ref> He played [[air traffic control]]ler Bob Abbot in the 2012 film ''[[Air Collision]]''.

In 2021, VelJohnson voiced Principal Winslow in the [[Invincible (TV series)|animated adaptation]] of the comic ''[[Invincible (comics)|Invincible]]''. In both the comic and the television series, the main character attends a high school named after the actor, and the character itself is named after his previous role of Carl Winslow from ''Family Matters''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Special Episode: Robert Kirkman and the Invincible Show| date=March 22, 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTYqmKqPFdo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/rTYqmKqPFdo| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-03-22}}{{cbignore}}</ref> VelJohnson also voices several minor characters in the series. He later reprised his role as David Sutton on [[Disney]]'s ''[[Turner & Hooch (TV series)|Turner & Hooch]]''.

In January 2023, VelJohnson began appearing in advertisements for [[Progressive Corporation|Progressive]] as "TV Dad", a parody of his previous Carl Winslow role.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Conway |first=Jeff |title=Actor Reginald VelJohnson Discusses His 'TV Dad' Progressive Commercials And His Professional Mindset At 70 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffconway/2023/01/27/actor-reginald-veljohnson-discusses-his-tv-dad-progressive-commercials-and-his-professional-mindset-at-70/ |access-date=2023-03-09 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

In September 2024, VelJohnson was announced as one of the celebrities competing on [[Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) season 33|season 33]] of ''[[Dancing with the Stars (American TV series)|Dancing with the Stars]]''. He was partnered with [[Emma Slater]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 4, 2024 |title=Meet the celebrity cast of 'Dancing with the Stars' season 33 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/dancing-with-the-stars-season-33-cast/story?id=113355662 |access-date=September 6, 2024 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> and they finished in 10th place.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 8, 2024 |title=Another Double Elimination! Who Went Home on the 'Dancing with the Stars' Tonight? |last=Bloom|first=Mike|url=https://parade.com/tv/who-went-home-dancing-with-the-stars-week-3-night-2-recap-scores-2024|access-date=October 9, 2024 |website=[[Parade (magazine)|Parade]] |language=en}}</ref>