AV Club's Random Roles with Reginald VelJohnson

[TMC]

https://www.avclub.com/die-hard-once...fic-1847321203

Family Matters (1989-1998)— “Carl Winslow”

AVC: People might not remember, but Family Matters was a spin-off of another show, Perfect Strangers. Can you talk about getting that call, and how you ended up in Family Matters?

RV: Well, Tom Miller, who was the producer of the show a long time ago, he happened to see me in the film Die Hard, and he said that he wanted to put me in the show. They were coming up with this TV series about a Black family and they thought I’d be perfect for it. And I went to audition, met Jo Marie [Payton], who played Harriette, and got cast in the role. I was about to have five kids and I’d never had a kid in my life. So I was the father of five children and the husband to a wife. It was very interesting. It became second nature to me.

AVC: I read a stat in The Wrap that said that Family Matters viewership was up 400 percent last year. Do you think that more people recognize you now?

RV: I think [people] still receive [the show] the way that they did originally. People come up to me all the time, whether I’m in the supermarket or I’m out in the street. They always come to me and tell me how much they loved Carl Winslow and how much they loved how he interacted with his family and whatnot. He was always such a good guy. He never made a mistake. And, you know, I really appreciate that because I’m just an actor. I do what I do, and to see that people appreciate me for what I do is a nice thing.

AVC: Over the course of its run, Family Matters went through some significant changes. First, there was the introduction of Urkel, who was meant to be a one-off role, but really took off. Second, around the time of the show’s ending, it switched networks from ABC to CBS. Third, your wife on the show, Jo Marie, left, and was replaced by Judyann Elder as Harriette. How did you look back at Family Matters when it ended, and how do you look at the arc of the show?

RV: Well, because Jo Marie left the show, I had to perform with a new Harriette, and that was always very strange to me. I did what I had to do in terms of the time and the characters and whatnot, but it was very different for me. I had been performing with Jo for like eight years and then for the new Harriette to come in… she brought her own thing to the role. I had to adjust and get used to that, and it was strange for the first few episodes of the show, but I got used to it.

I enjoyed working with Jo Marie and Judyann. They brought different things to the role, and I appreciated that. And I was a good husband, I guess. I don’t know. It was different, but I enjoyed every moment of it. I’ll never forget Family Matters.

[JO Sweet Heart]

To me, Reginald couldn't have done a better job playing Carl.

God bless you and him always!!!

Holly