Births on December 24

Clarence Gilyard

Born on December 24, 1955

Clarence Gilyard, American actor and educator

Clarence Darnell Gilyard Jr. (born December 24, 1955) is an American university professor, actor, and author who has been featured in movies, television programs and regional theatre since 1980. He is sometimes credited as Clarence A. Gilyard.

Gilyard is known for his roles as second private investigator and right-hand man Conrad McMasters to Ben Matlock (played by Andy Griffith) on the legal drama series Matlock from 1989 to 1993; Pastor Bruce Barnes in the Left Behind movie trilogy; Cordell Walker's (played by Chuck Norris) Texas Ranger partner, James "Jimmy" Trivette, in the 1990s crime drama Walker, Texas Ranger; Theo, the terrorist computer expert in Die Hard; and Lieutenant (junior grade) Marcus "Sundown" Williams in Top Gun.

References

Clarence Gilyard

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Events on 1955

7 Jan

Metropolitan Opera
Contralto Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.
13 Feb

Dead Sea Scrolls
Israel obtains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
18 Feb

Nevada Test Site
Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot "Wasp" is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series.
14 May

Warsaw Pact
Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
23 Oct

State of Vietnam referendum, 1955
Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm defeats former emperor Bảo Đại in a referendum and founds the Republic of Vietnam.

Births on December 24

Clarence Gilyard

Born on December 24, 1955

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1955

Metropolitan Opera

Dead Sea Scrolls

Nevada Test Site

Warsaw Pact

State of Vietnam referendum, 1955