Mark Salling

Mark Wayne Salling (; August 17, 1982 – January 30, 2018) was an American actor and musician known for his role as Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the television series Glee.

Salling studied at the Los Angeles College of Music before working as a guitar teacher. He also worked as an occasional actor, appearing in Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996) and The Graveyard (2006) before gaining a recurring role in Glee in 2009. Initially a regular character, from the fifth season he was reduced to a recurring guest star role. On the show, he soloed and dueted on cover versions of various songs. Pursuing a music career, he established his own label, Pipe Dreams Records, in partnership with Fontana Distribution. On this label he released an album, Pipe Dreams, in 2010.

In 2015, Salling was arrested for possession of child pornography.

Early life and education Salling was born in Dallas, Texas, and Condy Sue Salling (née Wherry), a school secretary. He was home-schooled at an early age. After graduating from high school, Salling attended the Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music in Pasadena, California and began studying guitar, giving guitar lessons to make a living.

Career Music Salling sang, wrote, and produced his own music under the name Jericho. He also played the piano, guitar, bass guitar, and drums. by Jericho Records. On October 25, 2010, Salling released a rock/jazz album, Pipe Dreams, which was inspired by Alice in Chains, Nine Inch Nails, Miles Davis, and Herbie Hancock. It was released by Pipe Dreams Records, Salling's own label, in partnership with Fontana Distribution.

On the television show Glee, he soloed and dueted on cover versions of various songs, including "Sweet Caroline", "Only the Good Die Young", "The Lady Is a Tramp", "Run Joey Run", "Beth", "Just Give Me a Reason", "Good Vibrations", and "Fat Bottomed Girls". During filming, Salling paid tribute to the cast of Glee by writing a song and creating a video titled "Chillin' on Glee", which featured various cast and crew members.

Acting Salling acted in Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996) and The Graveyard (2006). In 2008, he was cast as Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the Fox series Glee. On June 28, 2013, it was reported that Salling would not be returning as a regular on Glee fifth season, but would instead be a recurring guest star on the series.

Personal life Salling dated Glee co-star Naya Rivera from 2007 to 2010, and Playboy model DJ Roxanne Dawn from 2010 to 2011.

Salling was a longtime member of the Echo Park Ornithology Club in Los Angeles and even penned its theme song. The president and founder of the organization said that Salling "really enjoyed birdwatching a lot, and he really cared about birds... he had a lot of animals at his house and he worked at an animal rescue when I knew him. We went birdwatching together."

Legal issues Sexual assault charges In January 2013, Salling's ex-girlfriend Roxanne Gorzela accused him of committing sexual battery on March 25, 2011, by having unprotected sex without her knowing that it was unprotected. He denied the charges and filed a counter-suit for defamation of character. In March 2015, Salling settled with Gorzela out of court and agreed to pay her $2.7 million.

Child pornography charges On December 29, 2015, Salling was arrested at his Los Angeles home on suspicion of possessing several thousand photos and videos depicting child pornography, following a tip-off to the police from one of his ex-girlfriends. He was released later on a $20,000 bail, but a search pursuant to a warrant found more than 50,000 images of child pornography, downloaded between April and December 2015, on his computer and USB flash drives. As a result of the charges, Salling was removed from the cast of Adi Shankar's film Gods and Secrets, later renamed The Guardians of Justice.

On September 30, 2017, he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography as part of a plea deal, which was expected to result in Salling being sentenced to four to seven years in jail, in addition to registering as a sex offender and entering a treatment program, among other conditions. The guilty plea was formalized on December 18, 2017, and Salling's sentencing date was set for March 7, 2018.

Death Salling hanged himself on January 30, 2018, near his home in the Sunland area of Los Angeles. His body was found six hours after he was reported missing. The manner of his death was confirmed by the Los Angeles coroner's office and his death was ruled a suicide. Because Salling's death preceded the date he was scheduled to report to prison to begin serving his sentence, the entire sentence was thrown out, and a restitution agreement of $50,000 to ten individuals who had been identified in his illicit holdings was deemed null and void.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1996 Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering James Rhodes Direct-to-video 2006 Eric Direct-to-video 2011 Glee: The 3D Concert Movie Noah "Puck" Puckerman/Himself

Television Year Title Role Notes 1999 Walker, Texas Ranger Billy Episode: "Rise To The Occasion" 2009–2015 Glee Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2010) Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2011) Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2012) Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Breakout Star Male (2010) Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Music: Group (2010) (shared with Glee Cast) Nominated—Choice TV: Scene Stealer Male (2011) 2010 The X Factor Himself Special guest 2011 The Glee Project Himself Episode: "Sexuality" 2014 Rocky Road Harrison Burke TV movie

Discography

Studio albums YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positions US US Heat US Indie 2008Smoke Signals (released under stage name Jericho) Released: February 8, 2008 Label: Jericho Records Formats: CD, digital download — — —2010Pipe Dreams Released: October 25, 2010 Label: Fontana, Pipe Dreams Records Formats: CD, digital download 189 5 29 "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles Year Title Album2010 "Higher Power"Pipe Dreams