Clarence Gilyard Jr is a veteran American actor, director, producer, author and also a college professor. His acting career spans several decades and has seen him star in many movies, TV shows, and theater productions.
Clarence Gilyard Jr. is best known for his role as private investigator Conrad McMasters in the legal drama series Matlock (1989–93). He is also known for his role as Pastor Bruce Barnes in the Christian thriller Left Behind (2000) and its sequel Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (2002).
Clarence Gilyard Jr. Biography ( Age)
Clarence Darnell Gilyard Jr. was born on December 24, 1955 in Moses Lake, Washington. Her father, Clarence Gilyard Sr. was serving in the United States Air Force at the time. He was raised alongside 5 siblings. The family moved several times and lived on Air Force bases in different states.
Clarence Gilyard Jr. was educated at Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California. He was an excellent student and he finished high school in 1974. However, his university studies were a bit complicated. After graduating from high school, he joined the United States Air Force Academy and left after a year to transfer to Sterling College in central Kansas. He played for the school football team but couldn’t get a football scholarship so quit.
Gilyard Jr moved to California where he earned his living working in a clothing store. He then worked as an industrial chemical dealer and as a waiter. Gilyard also enrolled at California State University, Long Beach, where he majored in theater. He would eventually complete his undergraduate studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills.
He also joined a children’s theater group which marked the start of his acting career. His first acting job was as a cheerleader in the play Bums from the Bleachers (1979), making him the first known black man to take on the role of cheerleader.
During the 1980s, he appeared on several television shows, including Different Shots, The Facts of Life, Simon and Simon, Riptide as well as NBC’s Chips. He also starred in films such as Top Gun (1986), The Karate Kid Part II (1986) and Die Hard (1988). However, none of these roles had the benefit of making him a household name in Hollywood.
In 1989, the struggling actor finally managed to break into the recurring role of Conrad McMasters alongside Andy Griffith in the television legal drama Matlock . His stint on Matlock ended in 1993, after which he took on another role on the action series Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001). Gilyard Jr. starred as James “Jimmy” Trivette throughout the show’s 8 seasons. He also appeared in the television film adaptation of the series Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005).
In 2003, Clarence Gilyard Jr. earned a master’s degree in classical theater from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He is an associate professor in the theater department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he teaches film and theater. He also continues to appear in several theatrical productions.
Apart from his academic achievements, Clarence Gilyard Jr. is also a real-life cowboy and rides celebrity rodeos to raise money for various children’s charities.
His family, wife and children
Clarence Gilyard Jr had 2 marriages. He also has five children. 2 children from his first marriage and 3 from his current marriage. He met his first wife, Catherine Dutko, in college. Details of their union remain unclear, however, they have 2 children together. Their marriage ended in divorce due to the actor being unfaithful.
Clarence Gilyard Jr and his second wife, Elena, have been married since 2001. After they married, the actor decided Hollywood wasn’t the best place to raise a family. So he retired from performing and headed to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he earned an MFA in Classical Drama. So far, he’s kept his family as far away from Hollywood as possible.
The actor grew up as a Lutheran. But, after his first marriage fell apart in the early 90s, he found solace in the Catholic Church. He remains dedicated to the Catholic faith and has served as a consultant to the U.S. Bishops Communications Committee.
Height – How tall is it?
If you’re wondering how tall the man is, you won’t have to speculate anymore, the fact is that Clarence Gilyard Jr is 8 inches taller than 5 feet (174cm).
