Mark Salling was an American actor known for his role as Noah "Puck" Puckermanon 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 and The Graveyard before gaining a recurring role in Glee in 2008. 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.
Early life and education
Salling was born in Dallas, Texas, the younger of two children to religious Christian parents; John Robert Salling Jr., an accountant, and Condy Sue Salling, a school secretary. He was home-schooled at an early age. He attended, but did not graduate from, Culver Military Academy and later graduated from Lake Highlands High School in 2001. 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
Music
Salling sang, wrote, and produced his own music, and played the piano, guitar, bass guitar, and drums. His solo project's debut album Smoke Signals was released on February 8, 2008, under Jericho Records. On October 25, 2010, Salling released a rock/jazz album titled 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 was 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 titled "Chillin' on Glee'", which featured various cast and crew members.
Acting
Salling acted in and The Graveyard. 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 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. He resided in Shadow Hills, Los Angeles, California. 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."
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 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 Gorzela out of court after judges ordered him to pay her US$2.7 million.
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 police from one of his ex-girlfriends. He was released later on $20,000 bail, but a search warrant found more than 50,000 images of child pornography, downloaded between April and December 2015, on his computer and USB flash drives. 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 film Gods and Secrets. On September 30, 2017, he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, expected to result in Salling serving four to seven years in jail, 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.
