Died at 70
male
Clarence Alfred Gilyard Jr. (December 24, 1955 – November 23, 2022) was an American university professor, actor, and author. As a performer, he appeared in film, television, and stage productions; some sources give his middle name as Alfred. Gilyard was 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 first two Left Behind movies; 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) Evan "Sundown" Gough in Top Gun.
The Meteor Man is a formerly cowardly schoolteacher named Jefferson Reed living in Washington D.C. where his neighborhood was terrorized by a gang called the Golden Lords who are allied with a drug lord named Anthony Byers. One day, he witnessed a robbery by two kids who were trying to join the Golden Lords. While defending his neighborhood from an attacking gang, Jefferson Reed was hit by a meteorite. When he woke up in the hospital, he found he had developed weird superhuman abilities, which he then used to fight for justice, Superhuman Strength, Super Speed, Healing Power, Flight, X-Ray Vision, Invulnerability, Laser Vision, Freezing Breath, Imbue Fertility, Telekinesis, Zoopathy: He can communicate telepathically with dogs. Can absorb a book's content by touch. However, the Golden Lords' leader Simon Cain has also been exposed to the same meteor. Both men try to avoid getting drained of their powers and need constant exposure to a meteor fragment or they will lose their powers. Jefferson absorbed the energies in Simon and defeated them. When Simon was defeated, Anthony and his men show up to finish the job as the Bloods and the Crips come to Meteor Man's side. Anthony and his men plan to "take a vacation in the Bahamas." Just then, the police arrive and arrest the bad guys.
