Clarence Gilyard Jr Dies: 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' 'Matlock' & 'Die Hard' Actor Was 66

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https://deadline.com/2022/11/clarence-gilyard-jr-dead-walker-texas-ranger-die-hard-matlock-top-gun-1235183554/

Clarence Gilyard Jr, an actor and academic known for roles in such TV series as Walker, Texas Ranger and Matlock and films including Die Hard and Top Gun, has died. He was 66. The University of Nevada Las Vegas’ College of Fine Arts, where Gilyard was a film and theater professor, shared the news but gave no cause of death.


Gilyard’s career spanned more than 30 years in film, television and theater. His first movie role was as Sundown in the original Top Gun (1986), and he later made a lasting impression in 1988’s Die Hard as Theo, the wise-cracking computer whiz baddie.

On television, Gilyard co-starred opposite Andy Griffith in legal drama Matlock from 1989-93, appearing in 85 episodes as private investigator Conrad McMasters. Then, from 1993-2001, he starred with Chuck Norris as Jimmy Trevette in CBS’ Walker, Texas Ranger.