Viraldice: ‘Glee’ Actor Mark Salling Found Dead of Apparent Suicide Ahead of Child Pornography Trial

lee was a comedic tour de force when it first burst onto the scene in 2009. With its bitingly sharp portrayal of a high school glee club and the general intrigues surrounding it and its beautifully arranged covers of contemporary pop songs, it took Hollywood, and indeed, the entire nation by storm.

People were fascinated by the songs, and they were fascinated by the characters. There was ambitious Rachel, sweet Finn, popular Quinn, optimistic Artie, and a treasure trove of other sharply defined teenaged characters. And then there was Puck, or rather, Noah Puckerman, the resident bad boy at William McKinley High School.

Puck was played by Mark Salling, an actor everyone was sure would go on to be the next big thing. Instead, his name swiftly became infamous.

Salling died on Tuesday morning at the age of 35. Instead of being remembered as an actor from one of the most beloved and influential shows in recent history, he will be remembered as a man who pled guilty to possession of child pornography.

Salling’s life in recent years was plagued with scandal, most of it of an obscene and sexual nature. In 2013, Salling was sued by his ex-girlfriend Roxanne Gorzela for sexual battery.

Gorzela alleged that Salling forced her to have unprotected sex, even though she’d specified she’d only wanted to have sex with a condom. When she went to his house to confront him some days later, they fought and Salling pushed her on the floor, damaging her knees.

They later settled the case in court to the tune of 2.7 million dollars.