He began his career with minor but memorable roles: a corrections officer in a hit ghost-busting blockbuster, a detective in a buddy cop film and a heroic limo driver in Paul Hogan’s Down Under caper Crocodile Dundee.
But it was his role in an iconic holiday movie as an off-duty LAPD officer pulled into foiling a terrorist plot and serving as the moral beacon for the vigilante, that put him on Hollywood’s radar.Â
After that movie’s success, he landed a main role as a police officer and family patriarch on a hit ABC sitcom that ran for nearly a decade.Â
Following the show’s end, he mostly made guest appearances, though he had a short stint on a hit celebrity dance competition in 2024.Â
And despite keeping his private life largely out of the spotlight, he was recently drawn into a scandal involving one of today’s most notorious rap moguls.Â
Can you guess who he is?
He began his career with minor but memorable roles: a corrections officer in a hit ghost-busting blockbuster, a detective in a buddy cop film and a heroic limo driver Down Under
But it was his role as an off-duty LAPD officer pulled into foiling a terrorist plot and serving as the moral beacon for the vigilante, that put him on Hollywood’s radar
It’s Die Hard’s Reginald VelJohnson!
The 73-year-old actor was spotted strolling near his Los Angeles home on December 11, accompanied by his four loyal pugs.
He was joined by a friend, who at one point helped VelJohnson with his headphones while his hands were tied up with the pup’s leashes.
To stay comfortable under the cool California sun, VelJohnson wore a brown button-up short sleeve collared sweater, black joggers, and what appeared to be brown Clearweather Switchback slides.
His companion who joined him for the walk wore a black sweatshirt, black shorts, a blue Nike hat and black and blue Nike shoes.Â
VelJohnson built his career off his charismatic takes on the lovable, reliable comedic relief – mostly playing the role of police officers and detectives.Â
Reginald VelJohnson, 73, shot to fame in Die Hard (1988) as Sergeant Al Powell, the big-hearted cop who grounded Bruce Willis’s renegade action heroÂ
VelJohnson maintains a fiercely private life and has no known spouse or children. He was spotted taking a refreshing walk near his Los Angeles home with his four pugs on December 11Â
Wearing a brown button-up short sleeve, black joggers and brown slides, VelJohnson was accompanied by a male companion, who helped fix his headphones since his hands were tied up with his dogs’ leashes
His first minor roles included a corrections officer in Ghostbusters (1984), a limo driver named Gus in Crocodile Dundee (1986), and Detective David Sutton in Turner & Hooch (1989) alongside Tom Hanks.Â
The breakout role which would launch his career was as Sergeant Al Powell in the 1988 film Die Hard. Originally producers wanted a big name in the role and considered Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall and Wesley Snipes before deciding VelJohnson was right for the role.
The character would become iconic for the series due to being the moral foil to Bruce Willis character John McClane as he carried out his vigilante work against terrorists.
In fact, VelJohnson proved so popular, that he reprised the role in Die Hard 2, albeit in a smaller capacity, and the video game Die Hard: Vendetta in 2002.Â
His success in the franchise launched him into a main role on the hit ABC sitcom Family Matters as family patriarch, police officer Carl Winslow.Â
The show followed a black middle class family living in Chicago, Illinois, and became the third-longest-running live action sitcom with a predominately black cast – running for nearly 10 years with 215 episodes and nine seasons.
He began his career with minor roles, often playing cops or adjacent law-enforcement figures, including Detective David Sutton in Turner & Hooch alongside Tom HanksÂ
After the success of Die Hard, he landed a starring role as family patriarch Carl Winslow on Family Matters, which ran for nearly ten years and became the third longest-running live-action sitcom with a predominantly black castÂ
Although his career has slowed down since, he was thrust back into the spotlight on the 2024 season of Dancing with the Stars, although he was eliminated in week two
Since the show wrapped in 1998, VelJohnson has done mostly voice roles and guest appearances including in Will & Grace in 2002, That’s So Raven in 2005, Bones in 2007 and Brooklyn Nine-Nine in 2018.
He later enjoyed a successful recurring run on Hart of Dixie, playing Dash DeWitt from 2011 to 2015.
Despite decades in the spotlight, the 72-year-old has kept his personal life intensely private and is not known ever to have married or had children.
In 2017, he even became the target of an online death hoax after a website falsely claimed he had passed from a heart attack.
Most recently, he stepped back into the spotlight in 2024 with a surprise appearance on Dancing with the Stars, though his run ended with an early elimination in week two.
In September 2024, he was sucked into the rumor mill when comedian Luce Cannon alleged, he had been to disgraced rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs notorious ‘Freak Off’ parties.
VelJohnson denied these claims, telling TMZ he didn’t even know Diddy. ‘That’s all bulls**t. I don’t know that man, never met him.’
