Carl Winslow

Carl Otis Winslow was a fictional character portrayed by Reginald VelJohnson on the American sitcom Family Matters (TV series) from 1989-1998.

Background

Carl is an overweight, hard-working, and humble man. He is a police officer for the Chicago Police Department and eventually becomes promoted to first lieutenant, and then captain. Carl takes his role as the breadwinner of the Winslow family very seriously. Because of this, his opinion of being the "man of the house" tends to get in the way of more personal issues with his wife Harriette. He is somewhat quick to concede to his wife as evident by the fact that she often ends up teaching him a lesson when it comes to resolving petty marital disputes.

Carl has a tendency to come down very hard on his only son Eddie while being protective of his daughters Laura and Judy at the same time. On occasion Carl acts in an erratic fashion and usually blames it on his stressful job.

Relationship with Steve Urkel

Carl is openly vocal when it comes to his showing his displeasure with next door neighbor Steve Urkel. Steve always seems to show up at the Winslow house during the most inappropriate times.

Steve has a tendency to test out his often useless and accident-prone inventions in the Winslows' kitchen, and with Carl almost always present. As a result, whenever one of Steve's inventions goes haywire, Carl is the victim of their unpredictable and/or undesirable effects. Property damage and or bodily harm to the Winslows' household caused by Steve's clumsiness only adds to Carl's frustration. Through the years Carl grows to become tolerant of Steve after realizing that Steve does indeed look up to him like a father figure.

Quotes

• "Go home, Steve."
• (while yelling at Steve) "Go home, go home, GO HOME!!"

Unfortunately, he fell asleep on the couch and the house got robbed because of it.

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