Reginald VelJohnson, the actor best known for playing Sergeant Al Powell in Die Hard and patriarch Carl Winslow in Family Matters, was spotted out in Los Angeles celebrating his 74th birthday on August 16.
The New York-born actor, now 74, had a fruitful career through the late 1980s and 1990s and has continued picking up smaller roles in more recent years. He was seen out and about at two separate times on his birthday.
Two birthday outings
At one point VelJohnson wore black shorts, a black T-shirt and red sneakers with a multicolor print, walking with a cane while a loved one lent him a hand. Later he stepped out in black joggers, a different black T-shirt and black sneakers. He topped off both casual looks with a baseball cap.
The Daily Mail reached out to representatives for VelJohnson for comment.
From Die Hard to Family Matters
VelJohnson appeared in the 1988 action film Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis, taking over the role of Sergeant Al Powell from Gene Hackman. Die Hard, in which Willis played the New York police officer John McClane, became one of the defining action films of its era. VelJohnson relocated to California for the part and subsequently put down roots in the state as his career blossomed. Two years later he reprised the role in the 1990 sequel, Die Hard 2.
He is best remembered for playing Carl Winslow, the lovable police-officer patriarch at the center of Family Matters, which aired from 1989 to 1998 as part of ABC's Friday-night TGIF lineup. The sitcom was a spinoff of the series Perfect Strangers.
A career beyond sitcoms
VelJohnson also appeared in the 1989 comedy Turner & Hooch, which paired Tom Hanks with a French Mastiff named Hooch, playing the role of David Sutton. He reprised that role in 2021 for a Disney Plus reboot series starring Josh Peck.
Before that, he starred in the 2020 film The Very Excellent Mr Dundee and the TV movie The Christmas Lottery. In 2019 he guest-starred on the CBS comedy Mom, voiced the character Jerry on 3Below: Tales of Arcadia, and voiced God on the animated series Lazor Wulf.
Dancing with the Stars and Cameo bookings
In September 2024, VelJohnson was revealed as a cast member on season 33 of Dancing with the Stars, the ABC competition series that pairs celebrities with professional ballroom dancers. He and his professional partner, Emma Slater, were eliminated in a double-elimination episode after four weeks on the show.
This past June, VelJohnson told his Instagram followers he was available for bookings on Cameo, the platform where celebrities record personalized video messages for fans. "I'm on Cameo! Book me for Father's Day messages! Click the link in my bio," he wrote.
