Clarence Gilyard

Clarence Gilyard represented something I value enormously: the dependable presence who makes the lead look good and the whole show feel grounded. As Conrad McMasters on Matlock and Jimmy Trivette on Walker, Texas Ranger, he played the kind of steady sidekick that audiences quietly trust, and his NAACP Image Award felt earned rather than ceremonial. What moves me most is that he later taught at university while still acting, treating performance as something to pass on. From Moses Lake, Washington to that double life of artist and educator, he carried real warmth. His passing in 2022 was a genuine loss to that tradition of generous supporting work.

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Name (English)

Clarence Gilyard

Name (Japanese)

クラレンス・ギルヤードJr.

Reading

くられんす・ぎるやーどJr.

Born

December 24, 1955 – November 28, 2022

Origin

Moses Lake, Washington, United States

Occupation

actor / pedagogue / film actor / television actor / television director

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Capricorn / Goat

High school

Eisenhower High School

University

Southern Methodist University

Awards & achievements

• 2000 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence%20Gilyard
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1095435

Tags

• Washington
• actor
• pedagogue
• film actor

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.