August 16

Today, we're talking about Reginald VelJohnson, veteran actor and go-to guy when you want a friendly cop in your movie or TV show. There's plenty of tough, no-nonsense cops on TV, and they come in two flavors: deadpan (CSI) and trigger-happy (NCIS). As Carl Winslow, Reginald was the happy, not-quite-bumbling (at least, compared to Urkel) policeman that was more than his badge. He was a decent cop with good values (because Family Matters, y'know?...) And the dude could dance...

No wonder his walk-on character from Perfect Strangers became the anchor of a TV series that lasted 215 episodes.

Before he patrolled the streets of the TGIF lineup, he was most famous as the cop on the other end of John McClaine's walkie-talkie in the original Die Hard. He also played a cop in Turner & Hooch (playing neither, just a colleague). Heck, he played a jailer in Ghostbusters.

He doesn't just play cops:

Time Upon a Once from Zach Lipovsky on Vimeo.

That was a short film produced for the reality series for moviemakers, "On the Lot." After ten years 'on the force', he concentrated on the stage, which allowed him more diverse roles, as well as the chance to write and develop his own material. However, he didn't disappear from TV screens, making guest appearences on everything from Crossing Jordan and CSI to Will & Grace. In 2010, he returned to series television, accepting a role on the Disney sitcom I'm in the Band, as a different type of authority figure: a high school principal.

This last clip is to make the point that although the subjects in this Birthday Blog may be unappreciated in a general sense, it doesn't mean that they're not somebody's hero: