Clarence Gilyard Net Worth: As an American university professor, actor, and novelist, Clarence Darnell Gilyard Jr. (December 24, 1955 – November 28, 2022) was a prominent figure in his field. Some sources list his middle name as Alfred, and he has worked in film, TV, and theatre.
Gilyard was best known for his roles as the private investigator Conrad McMasters and Ben Matlock’s (Andy Griffith) trusted right-hand man on the legal drama series Matlock from 1989 to 1993, as Pastor Bruce Barnes in the Left Behind movie trilogy, as Texas Ranger Cordell Walker’s (Chuck Norris) trusted partner, James “Jimmy” Trivette, in the 1990s crime drama Walker, Texas Ranger. Let’s move below and find out all information about Clarence Gilyard Net Worth.
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Clarence Gilyard Early Life
Gilyard was born on Christmas Eve, 1955, to Barbara and Clarence Darnell Gilyard Sr., a U.S. Air Force officer, in Moses Lake, Washington. Out of a total of six, Gilyard was the second youngest. Gilyard spent his childhood on Air Force stations in Hawaii, Texas, and Florida, while his family was originally from New Orleans. He was brought up predominantly Lutheran but converted to Catholicism in his twenties.
Gilyard spent his formative years in the San Bernardino neighborhood of Rialto, where he went to Eisenhower High. He excelled academically and graduated from high school in 1974. He then spent a year as a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy before leaving to attend Sterling College. He joined the fraternity Sigma Chi and played football at the university level. Also, he was awarded a tennis scholarship, although he never finished his education.
Gilyard, during his high school years at home with his parents, was engrossed with female companionship, booze, and occasionally drugs. After much prodding from his parents, he and his companion packed up and headed for Long Beach, California. He studied acting at Cal State Long Beach and got a job waiting tables as he looked for acting roles. The California State University, Dominguez Hills is where he earned his bachelor’s degree.
Gilyard and his roommate both got jobs at a clothes business, and he eventually moved up the ranks to become the manager. After a short time, he left to pursue a career in the sales of industrial chemicals. Gilyard went back to school in 2003 and graduated with a master of fine arts degree in theatre performance from Southern Methodist University.
Clarence Gilyard’s Personal Life
Gilyard has a total of six children from his two marriages. After divorcing his first wife, Catherine Dutko, he wed his second wife, Elena Castillo, in the year 2001. His first marriage had ended in divorce. He worked for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a consultant for their communications committee. Gilyard passed away in November 2022, at the age of 66, following a protracted battle with sickness.
Clarence Gilyard Net Worth
Clarence Gilyard Net Worth: American actor and academic Clarence Gilyard was worth $5 million when he passed away. On November 28, 2022, at the age of 66, we lost Clarence. In the month of December 1955, Clarence Gilyard entered this world in Moses Lake, Washington. In 1980, he uprooted his life and headed to Hollywood, California, to pursue a career in acting. When he played the cheerleader in Bleacher Bums, he made history as the first black actor to fill the role.
In 1981, he made his first appearance on Diff’rent Strokes. He played Benjamin Webster on the television show CHiPs for two seasons (1982–1983). During the year 1984, Gilyard was a main character on the TV show The Duck Factory. He had roles in two blockbuster films that year: Top Gun and The Karate Kid Part II. He starred as Theo in the 1988 film Die Hard and as Conrad McMasters in the TV series Matlock, which ran from 1989 to 1993.
Clarence Gilyard Cause of Death
Living a healthy lifestyle has been linked to a longer lifespan. However, not everyone is eligible for this due to their occupation and hectic lifestyle. Our bodies naturally become more restless as we age, making it all the more crucial that we prioritize our health as we age. Health problems, accidents, suicide, and other factors are just a few of the many causes of mortality. It’s shocking to hear that even young toddlers today can contract a wide range of ailments.
Over the past few years, we’ve lost a number of well-known people to a wide range of illnesses. Clarence Gilyard, an American academic, is one of them. The 24th of December 1955 saw the birth of this famous man who went on to do great things.
However, he is no longer here. According to Wikipedia, Clarence Gilyard did indeed pass away on November 28, 2022. The most popular question asked by Clarence Gilyard’s admirers is what caused his untimely demise. According to our research, Clarence Gilyard passed away from a protracted illness.
Clarence Gilyard Career
In 1979, Gilyard traveled to Los Angeles to become an actress. One publication dubbed him “the first black actor to play a cheerleader” for his performance in the play Bleacher Bums; from there, he moved on to television. Gilyard worked as a character actor, appearing in episodes of sitcoms like Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, 227, Simon & Simon, and Riptide.
Gilyard played the role of Officer Benjamin Webster alongside Erik Estrada in the last season of the NBC police drama CHiPs, which aired from 1982–1983. In 1984, he starred alongside Jim Carrey on NBC’s comedy series The Duck Factory. In 1987, he was featured in a McDonald’s ad.
In the 1986 film Top Gun, Gilyard made his acting debut as Lt. (JG) Marcus “Sundown” Williams, an F-14 Tomcat radar intercept officer. In the 1986 sequel to “The Karate Kid,” he played a military man. He played the role of Theo, a criminal computer whiz, in the 1988 action picture Die Hard. In both Left Behind: The Movie and its sequel, Left Behind II: Tribulation Force, he played the role of Reverend Bruce Barnes.
From 1989 until 1993, Gilyard co-starred with Andy Griffith on Matlock as Ben Matlock’s private investigator Conrad McMasters. He took the place of Kene Holliday, who was let go due to his substance abuse problems and was subsequently replaced. Starting with the third season of Matlock, Gilyard was featured in nearly every episode.
Production moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, from Los Angeles, when the show aired on NBC for the sixth season before switching to ABC for the seventh. When Andy Griffith offered that Gilyard relocates to the area, Gilyard took him up on the offer and eventually left to film a pilot for another CBS series the next year.
Alongside Chuck Norris since 1993, he has starred in another long-running co-starring role. Gilyard portrays Walker’s best friend and coworker on the Texas Rangers, James “Jimmy” Trivette. Norris’s character eventually tied the knot with his longstanding assistant district attorney lover, and Gilyard’s character also got a love interest at the end of the series. Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire, a television movie from 2005, had a cameo appearance by Gilyard.
Gilyard returned to acting in 2012, after a hiatus during which he taught. He has since acted in a number of small films. As of the year 2014, he has been featured in the religious drama A Matter of Faith. On January 17, 2016, at the University of New Mexico’s Popejoy Hall, Gilyard played Hoak Colburn in the Neil Simon Festival production of Driving Miss Daisy, facing his former Walker, Texas Ranger co-star, Sheree J. Wilson.
Gilyard portrays high school head coach Devin Wade in the “Longshot” mode of Madden NFL 2018. Gilyard returned to his role as gang member Theo from Die Hard two years later in an advertisement for Advance Auto Parts’ DieHard brand of vehicle batteries, starring Bruce Willis.