Welcome to the party, buddy.
Yippee-ki-yippe!
Reginald VelJohnson returned metaphorically (and literally, they put a car on the ballroom floor) on Tuesday night in the Oscar episode of Dancing with the starsVelJohnson danced the Paso Doble with partner Emma Slater to “Ode to Joy” and paid tribute to his role in the Die Hard franchise and his co-star Bruce Willis.
“Great memories,” VelJohnson told Slater of his time filming the original movie. “It was my first big movie that I acted in. It was an experience I’ll never forget. (Willis) was very kind to me in my first big role. I thanked him for that and I always will.”
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Reginald VelJohnson and Emma Slater on “Dancing With the Stars”
VelJohnson also dedicated his performance to Willis, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia last year and has essentially retired from public life. “It’s a tribute to my friend Bruce Willis,” he said, before making an optimistic statement about his future on the show. “If you think I’m going to quit with double elimination, then ‘Yay, motherf–er.'”
The actor played LAPD officer Al Powell in the two Die Hard and 1990s Die Hard 2In the original film, Al acts as a moral support and confidant for Bruce Willis’ John McClane, staying with McClane throughout the night via walkie-talkie. Powell is there to offer advice and comforting words to McClane as he faces off against terrorist Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his gang of gangsters.
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Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” has a big moment in the film when Gruber and his henchmen finally succeed in their plan to break into the vault at Nakotomi Plaza and steal all the money stored inside. Money flutters around Hans’ head as he revels in his success after the explosion that blows the vault door open.
VelJohnson and Slater’s number was a nod to the events of the film and to this particular scene. It began with VelJohnson, in uniform, standing next to a police car and calling for backup. As he and Slater sang their Paso Doble, money floated around them in the ballroom. He ended the number with Willis’ dialogue: “Welcome to the party, buddy.”
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Reginald VelJohnson in “Die Hard”
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The “Ode to Joy” was also used in Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, as a way to incite the protagonist Alex (Malcolm McDowell) to extreme violence (this is eventually used in his aversion therapy).
Actually, Die Hard Composer Michael Kamen was reportedly inspired to write this song by the Kubrick film. In addition, business is at the heart of Die Hard is owned by Japan and “Ode to Joy” has a special meaning in Japan. It is performed there regularly in December, the month Beethoven was born, including at an annual event with 10,000 amateur singers.
“Ode to Joy” is the fourth and final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
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Emma Slater and Reginald VelJohnson on “Dancing With the Stars”
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VelJohnson and Slater received a total of 15 points from the judges, bringing their total score for the two weeks to 31. The judges were impressed by VelJohnson’s “baby steps” of improvement since the premiere, with Derek Hough commenting, “This is the only place you’ll see a cop wearing a cummerbund.”
Dancing with the stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
By Jasper
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