Mark Salling Biography

Mark Wayne Salling (born August 17, 1982) is an American actor, singer-songwriter, composer, musician and convicted sex offender. He is known for his role as Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the comedy 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

Music

Salling sings, writes, and produces his own music, and plays the piano, guitar, bass guitar, and drums. His solo project's (under the stage name "Jericho") debut album Smoke Signals was 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.

Acting

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 fifth season, but would instead be a recurring guest star on the series.

Personal life

He resides in Shadow Hills, Los Angeles.

Sexual assault and child pornography charges

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. After several postponements and failed negotiations with prosecutors, his trial began on September 12, 2017, in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. On October 4, 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 faces four to seven years in jail.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title nothing	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	Noah "Puck" Puckerman	Main role (seasons 1-4) Recurring role (seasons 5-6); 81 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2009) 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

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

Soundtracks

• 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)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak	Album
		US
2010	"Higher Power"	"?	Pipe Dreams
""?" denotes releases that did not chart, or was not released.