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Clarence Gilyard Jr. was starstruck when he worked with Andy Griffith on Matlock
Don't meet your heroes...unless your hero is Andy Griffith.
One of the best parts about serving as a hero to others is that your impact on society isn't entirely visible at first. The real effect that you have on people might take months or years to manifest, and sometimes those heroes get to hear how much they mean to people right from the mouths of the fans themselves.
Like any child, Clarence Gilyard Jr. was an avid viewer of The Andy Griffith Show. However, unlike many adults, he got to meet the icon in person when they starred on television together.
Gilyard is a star of both film and television, appearing in movies like Top Gun and popular shows like Walker, Texas Ranger. However, Gilyard is also well known as Conrad McMasters in the hit legal series Matlock.
After years of watching Andy Griffith on his television screen, Gilyard was able to meet him face to face. The actor talked about the experience during an interview with The Waco Citizen, where he explained that the real Andy Griffith far exceeded his expectations.
"To me, growing up watching The Andy Griffith Show, he [Griffith] was the ultimate dad," Gilyard said. "And now I'm working with him. On some of the episodes, I even get to sing and play the guitar with Andy."
But as an adult, Gilyard was able to see Griffith as a peer and acting mentor, which he said actually benefited him as an actor.
"I learn something new every day," he said. "Sometimes Andy takes me aside and gives me just a word of advice, and that puts me light years ahead."
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