Die Hard actor, theatre professor Clarence Gilyard dies at 66

American actor Clarence Gilyard has passed away at 66.

UNLV’s College of Fine Arts, where Gilyard worked as a theatre professor, announced the news of his demise with “profound sadness.”

The cause of death hasn’t been revealed; however, the late actor was reportedly suffering from a chronic illness.

Gilyard made his name in the Hollywood film industry through his roles in several famous franchises, including Die Hard, where he played a computer-terror expert.

The Matlock star started teaching at the Department of Film at UNLV in 2006, pressing a pause on his budding career.

His passion for teaching and working as a professor was occasionally manifested in his interviews. “My manager-agent is not happy that I’m not working, but the university is just too much fun. And once you start a semester and meet those students, it’s like doing a TV series,” Gilyard said in 2010.

He continued: “You’re plugged into them. How can you leave them once you see in their eyes that they’re depending on you? They have aspirations for their own growth for those 15 weeks.”