Nicole Zabaleta
The actor Mark Salling, who played the “bad boy” Noah Puckerman in the hit series Glee, died after an apparent suicide on Tuesday. Just a few weeks after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography. He was 35 years old.
Goodbye to Puck
Salling pleaded guilty last December after authorities found more than 50,000 images of child pornography in a search for his computer and a USB stick. The sentence was scheduled on March 7th and prosecutors had planned to ask the judge to send him to prison for four to seven years.
A law enforcement officer who was not yet authorized to give statements to the public said that Salling was found hanging in a riverbed in the Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles. The assistant chief investigator, named Ed Winter, said the death is being investigated as a suicide.
Winter said the actor was pronounced dead at 9 am Tuesday. Six hours after police received a report that he was missing.
“Mark was a kind and caring person. A person of great creativity, who went out of his way to make up for some serious errors and judgment,” Salling’s attorney, Michael J. Proctor, said in an email to The Associated Press.
This lawyer has not given any kind of opinion regarding the death of the accused. He said that the actor’s family appreciated the support he is receiving. Also, they ask to respect their request for privacy.
More than just a pretty face
This actor had appeared on other projects before his prominent role in “Glee”, that was broadcast from 2009 to 2015.
He made a presence in previous credits, among them “Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering” of 1996. In Chuck Norris series as a guest “Walker, Texas Ranger” and finally in the 2014 television movie “Rocky Road.”
Noted also for being a songwriter and singer, releasing two albums called: “Smoke Signals” and “Pipe Dreams” in 2010.
After the release of his latest album “Pipe Dreams,” Salling told The Associated Press he had been a songwriter and singer long before he became an actor.
I put a record before. It was triple cardboard, ” he joked, “I was very excited about selling 125 units for that. But you know this is something I’ve been doing all my life. It’s not something I just decided to do randomly now. This is not the first. It will not be the last. And I hope that people enjoy it and have something to look forward to in the next round. ”
Mark Wayne Salling, who was born on August 17, 1982. He was the youngest son of John Salling, an accountant, with his wife Condy, a school secretary.
A true athlete outside Glee
Like his character in “Glee”, Salling was a true athlete. Being part of the fight, rugby, basketball and other school sports. Yes, this happened when he did not play the guitar or the piano. Being this his biggest hobby. He started playing in the local bars when he was still in high school.
Shortly after finishing school, he moved to California to pursue an acting and music career, learning guitar at the Los Angeles Academy of Music.
Never give up
After seven years of not being successful in getting important roles and having released only one album, this actor was ready to give up. His older brother, Matt encouraged him not to. Shortly after, he obtained the role in the series “Glee”, where he quickly captivated the audience. His song “Sweet Caroline¨ by Neil Diamond even caught the eye of Diamond himself, with praise!
Salling commented that his own musical references had a wide range. From jazz to country, going through rock, hip-hop, and pop. He quoted Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails as one of his greatest musical influences. Both his parents and his brother lament the loss of this member of the family.
