The US actor Clarence Gilyard, known among other things for his roles in the film “Die Hard” and the series “Walker, Texas Ranger”, has died at the age of 66 from reasons that are still unclear.
In his long career spanning five decades, perhaps his best-remembered role is that of computer hacker “Theo” in 1998’s “Die Hard.”
He also became a household name on the small screen in the 1990s, playing prime-time private investigator Conrad McMasters on the drama Matlock and then in a career-defining role on the series Walker, Texas Ranger.
Born Clarence Darnell Gilyard Jr. in 1955 in Moses Lake, Washington, he wanted to join the military after high school but dropped out during his freshman year. When she moved to California, she enrolled in an acting class and her life changed.
As he began to see progress in his acting path, Gilyard dropped out of college and began appearing in minor television roles. His big break came in 1989 when he landed the role of Conrad McMasters on the NBC drama Matlock, starring Andy Griffith.
In 1993 he left Matlock to star in CBS’s Walker, Texas Ranger. Gilyard played Sergeant James “Jimmy” Trivette, Norris’ lead man’s best friend and partner, opposite Chuck Norris.
The phenomenally successful series ran for eight seasons with a total of 203 episodes. This is the most famous job he has done in his career.
In 1986, Gilyard made his feature film debut in Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise as Lt. Marcus “Sunset” Williams, one of America’s elite fighter pilots.
It was easy for Gilyard to adapt to the role, having been born into a military family and raised on air bases in Hawaii, Texas, and Florida.
He did not reprise his role in the sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
His most notable role, however, was as Theo, the hacker who supports Hans Gruber’s terror group, played by Alan Rickman, in John McTiernan’s action classic Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis.
You may be interested in: Kevin Bacon, the Hollywood star who tried to turn off his glamor
After several films and series, the actor turned away from acting in the mid-2000s and in recent years worked as a theater professor at the College of Fine Arts at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, from where his death was confirmed.
A statement from the university said the actor was “loved and greatly missed” and that they were “blessed” by his presence.
School film director Heather Addison said: “Professor Gilyard was a beacon of light and strength to all around him. Every time we asked him how he was doing, he cheerfully declared that he was “blessed”!
“But we are truly the ones who have been blessed to be his colleagues and students for so many years. We love you and will miss you so much, Professor G!” added Addison.
“I met my wife, got married, then we had kids and my first two girls didn’t have me. I’ve been acting all the time, 15 straight years on TV. But my commitment to my family and my wife was paramount. I knew if I didn’t work on the marriage, it wouldn’t work,” the actor said in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
He did, however, reprise the iconic role on a brief screen return in 2021 when he reunited with Bruce Willis and De’voreaux White for a Die Hard commercial.