The 66-year-old actor Clarence Gilyard Junior, who was best recognised for his work in the films ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Die Hard,’ has passed suddenly. No further details about his death have been made public.
The University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), where the actor was employed as a film and theatre professor, has confirmed the actor’s passing.
‘Professor Gilyard was a beacon of light and strength for everyone around him,’ UNLV film chair Heather Addison said in the statement. ‘Whenever we asked him how he was, he would cheerfully declare that he was ‘Blessed!’ But we are truly the ones who were blessed to be his colleagues and students for so many years. We love you and will miss you dearly, Professor G!’
Gilyard was born on December 24 1955, in Moses Lake, Washington, according to Variety. Before becoming an actor, Gilyard was a cadet at the US Air Force Academy for a year. Later, he graduated from California State University with a bachelor’s degree in acting.
The actor had appeared in a number of films as a guest star in the 1980s. In the film ‘Top Gun,’ which starred Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer in the key roles, Gilyard made his acting debut as Sundown. Gilyard appears in ‘Die Hard’ as the terrorist computer genius Theo.
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