American actor and musician (1982–2018)
Mark Wayne Salling (; August 17, 1982 – January 30, 2018)
[2]
[3] was an American actor and musician known for his role as
Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the television series
Glee .
[4]
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 the possession of
child pornography .
[5] In 2017, he pleaded guilty to the charges as part of a plea deal.
[6] He died by suicide on January 30, 2018, before a sentencing hearing scheduled for March 7.
[7]
[8]
[9]
Early life and education
Salling was born in
Dallas ,
Texas ,
[9] the younger of two children
[8] to John Robert Salling Jr., an accountant,
[10] and Condy Sue Salling (née Wherry), a school secretary.
[8]
[11]
[12] He was home-schooled at an early age.
[9] He attended, but did not graduate from,
Culver Military Academy and later graduated from
Lake Highlands High School in 2001. While in high school, he was a member of the school
wrestling team.
[13] 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.
[14]
Career
Music
Salling sang, wrote, and produced his own music under the name Jericho. He also played the piano, guitar, bass guitar, and drums.
[14] Jericho's debut album Smoke Signals was released on February 8, 2008
[15] 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 .
[16] It was released by Pipe Dreams Records, Salling's own label, in partnership with
Fontana Distribution .
[14] He was the composer, performer, and producer of each track.
[14] The first single, "Higher Power", premiered on August 10, 2010.
[17]
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 ".
[18] 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.
[19]
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 's fifth season, but would instead be a recurring guest star on the series.
[20]
Personal life
Salling dated Glee co-star
Naya Rivera from 2007 to 2010, and
Playboy model DJ Roxanne Dawn from 2010 to 2011.
[11] He resided in
Shadow Hills, Los Angeles ,
California .
[21]
Salling was a long-time member of the Echo Park Ornithology Club in Los Angeles, and even penned their 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."
[22]
Legal issues
Sexual assault charges
In January 2013, Salling's ex-girlfriend Roxanne Gorzela
[8] accused him of committing sexual battery on March 25, 2011, by having unprotected sex without her
knowing that it was unprotected .
[23]
[24]
[25] He denied the charges and filed a counter-suit for defamation of character.
[26] In March 2015, Salling settled with Gorzela out of court and agreed to pay her $2.7 million.
[8]
[27]
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.
[11]
[28]
[29]
[30] He was released later on $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 .
[11]
On May 27, 2016, he was charged with receiving and possessing child pornography.
[31] 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 .
[32]
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,
[6] and Salling's sentencing date was set for March 7, 2018.
[33]
Death
Salling died by
suicide by hanging on January 30, 2018,
[34] near his home in the
Sunland area of
Los Angeles . His body was found six hours after he was reported missing.
[8]
[35]
[36] The manner of his death was confirmed by the Los Angeles coroner's office and his death was ruled a
suicide .
[34] He was cremated.
[37]
See also
Filmography
Film
Television
Discography
Studio albums
Year
Album details
Peak chart positions
US
[51]
US Heat
[52]
US Indie
[53]
2008
Smoke Signals (released under stage name Jericho)
—
—
—
2010
Pipe Dreams
Released: October 25, 2010
[54]
Label:
Fontana , Pipe Dreams Records
Formats: CD, digital download
189
5
29
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Singles
Year
Title
Album
2010
"Higher Power"
Pipe Dreams
References
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^
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^
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^
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