Born: 24th December 1955
Birthplace: Moses Lake, WA.

Height; 5' 9" (1.75 m)

Clarence was married to Kathy and had two children, and now to Elena they have one child.

His television work includes
Walker Texas Ranger- Jimmy Trivette (1993-2001)
Matlock- Conrad McMasters (1989-93)
CHiPS- Officer Benjamin Webster (1982-83)

His films inlcude
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force 29-Oct-2002
Left Behind 2000
Walker Texas Ranger 3: Deadly Reunion 1994
The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake 11th November 1990
L.A. Takedown 27th August 1989
Die Hard 15th July 1988
The Karate Kid Part II 19th June 1986
Top Gun 16th May 1986

In 1980, Clarence moved to L.A. to begin acting. He became the first black actor to undertake the role of the cheerleader in "Bleacher Bums" before he began looking into TV roles.

Clarence has made guest appearances on TV shows such as Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life and Riptide.

Clarence was on the final season of the NBC TV series CHiPs as Officer Benjamin Webster from 1982-1983. Next he co starred with Jim Carrey in the 1984 NBC sitcom "The Duck Factory".

His movie debut was in 1986 as a radar technician Sundown in Top Gun. He was also a military man in The Karate Kid, Part II. His most famous movie role is in the 1988 action film Die Hard. He was Theo, a computer expert and a member of the terrorists. He also played in Left Behind: The Movie and Left Behind II: Tribulatio Force as Reverend Bruce Barnes.

His fortune came true when he replaced Kene Holliday as young private eye, Conrad McMasters, on the drama series, Matlock, from 1989 to 1993. He had been a fan of Andy Griffiths for years, and had beat out three other actors for the role, when a screen-test came. He also had a distinct connection with Griffith for four years. Unlike many actors, with the exception of both Holliday & Roebuck, He had almost appeared in every Matlock episode for his three seasons he stayed on the show. After the show had moved from NBC to ABC for the series' seventh season, he was about to work on a pilot for another series on CBS, hence, most of his appearances have been reduced on Matlock.

In 1993, his dream would also come true as he would earn yet another co-starring role opposite Chuck Norris as Texas Ranger James Trivette on Walker, Texas Ranger. He would continue playing the same role until 2001, making him one of the top stars in Hollywood.

While still working in film and theatre, Gilyard currently teaches acting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Clarence attended Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas for some time. After his success as an actor, Clarence has given back to the college in many ways, one of which is he paid for new tennis courts for the college.