Mark Salling dead at 35 after apparent suicide; Glee actor was facing jail time
The news of Salling’s death was reported by TMZ, who notes that the actor was awaiting sentencing on a child pornography case. He was expected to receive four to seven years of jail time. The cause of death has not been officially confirmed as of yet, but there will be a further investigation. The TMZ report notes that Salling may have chosen to hang himself rather than eventually find himself behind bars.
This death marks the second passing of a Glee star since the show began, with Cory Monteith dying years ago after a drug overdose in Vancouver. While Salling was a working actor before doing the Fox musical comedy, he — like many other actors on that show — found himself emerging in the spotlight in a big way. He had a brief attempt at launching a music career and there were relationship rumors aplenty surrounding him and some other cast members on the series. Since his arrest many of these said cast members have spoken out against him and understandably so. It’s difficult for many fans of the show to think back on Glee in much of the same way thanks to what has transpired with him; while Noah Puckerman may be a separate character, it is still hard to see him and not see the actor behind the role. That is a dire shame for everyone else who worked on the show and wants to be able to cherish may of those memories.
Now, this tragic story has met a painful end following horrific charges levied against him. There is nothing about this story that is good. We don’t take pleasure in reporting the death of someone, even someone who did unspeakable things. We are sure there will be more reactions from the Glee community that come out over the next few hours as this story starts to reverberate across Hollywood.
Condolences go out to everyone who was close to Salling at this time. (Photo: Fox.)