He was Trivette, the inveterate companion of Chuck Norris in the Walker Texas Ranger series, the American comedian Clarence Gilyard Jr left us at the age of 66.
It was the University of Nevada in Las Vegas that confirmed the news: comedian Clarence Gilyard Jr., known among other things for the role of Trivette in the series Walker Texas Ranger, died on November 28, 2022. On the end of his life, the actor had joined the university in the Fine Arts department as a professor of cinema and theater. “He was a model of light and strength for everyone around him,” said Heather Addison, head of the establishment’s film department. The actor, whom we also saw in Top Gun and especially Piège de Cristal, died at the age of 66.
Born in Moses Lake, Washington on December 24, 1955, Clarence Gilyard Jr. was not immediately destined for an acting career. It was not until 1979 that he went to Los Angeles with the mad hope of becoming an actor. He quickly accumulates a few appearances on television. His first film role dates from 1986 with Top Gun in which he plays a small role: that of Lieutenant Marcus “Sundown” Williams. In 1988, he played the role of a criminal computer expert in John McTiernan’s cult film Piège de Cristal.
From 1989 to 1993, he played the role of Conrad McMasters, a private detective in Matlock, a legal series in which he appeared in almost all episodes from season 3. Clarence Gilyard Jr. finally left the series before season 7 which changed channels from NBC to ABC in the United States. In 1993, he was chosen for another role that would forge his career: that of Trivette, Walker’s best friend in the Walker Texas Ranger action series carried by Chuck Norris. It is undoubtedly for this role that the actor is best known in France, where the series has been rebroadcast.