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

Early life

Salling was born in Dallas, Texas. He was home-schooled at an early age. He attended Providence Christian School and Our Redeemer Lutheran during elementary school. He attended but did not graduate from Culver Military Academy, and later graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 2001, where he was a classmate of art rock musician Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent. While he attended high school, he was a member of the school wrestling team. 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

Salling sang, wrote, and produced his own music, and played the piano, guitar, bass guitar, and drums. His solo project's (under the stage name "Jericho") debut album Smoke Signalswas released on February 8, 2008, under Jericho Records. On October 25, 2010, Salling released a rock/jazz album entitled 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. He is the composer, performer and producer, of each track. The first single, "Higher Power", premiered on August 10, 2010.

For 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 entitled "Chillin' on Glee'", which featured various cast and crew members.[13]

Salling acted in Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996) and The Graveyard (2006). In 2008, he was cast as a regular character, Noah Puckerman, on Fox Broadcasting Company 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.

Personal life

He resided in Shadow Hills, Los Angeles.

In January 2013, a woman accused Salling of committing sexual battery by forcing her to have unprotected sex without her consent.] He denied the charges and filed a counter-suit for defamation of character. In March 2015, Salling settled with the woman out of court.

On December 29, 2015, Salling was arrested at his Los Angeles home on suspicion of possessing several thousand photos and videos depicting child pornography. On May 27, 2016, he was charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. As a result of the charges, Salling was removed from the cast of Adi Shankar’s Gods and Secrets. His trial began on September 12, 2017, in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. On September 30, 2017, he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, subsequently registering as a sex offender and entering a treatment program, among other conditions. He also faced four to seven years in jail. The guilty plea was formalized December 18, 2017, and he was going to be sentenced in March 2018.

Death

Salling died in Los Angeles from an apparent suicide on January 30, 2018 at the age of 35.

• Glee: The Music, Volume 1 (2009)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 2 (2009)
• Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna (2010)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers (2010)
• Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals (2010)
• Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album (2010)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 4 (2010)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 5 (2011)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 6 (2011)
• Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2 (2011)
• Glee: The Music, Volume 7 (2011)
• Glee: The Music, The Graduation Album (2012)
• Glee: The Music, Season 4, Volume 1 (2012)