CLARENCE GILYARD (James Trivette) Clarence Gilyard, who played Conrad McMasters in the series Matlock for five seasons, has also appeared in the series Diff ' rent Strokes and CHiPS. Among the feature films in which he has co-starred are Top Gun and Die Hard. He was born in Moses Lake, Washington, and grew up as one of six children in a military family. He attended the Air Force Academy before transferring to Sterling College in Kansas, where he was wide receiver on the football team, and also became interested in acting. Clarence is a real-life cowboy and devotes much of his free time to riding and roping in celebrity rodeos to benefit various children's charities. He is honorary chairman of and celebrity spokesman for Cowboys for Kids and also serves on the board of directors of the Children's Organ Transplant Association. His birth date is December 24.