Mark Salling life and biography

Mark Salling is an American actor, singer-songwriter, composer, and musician. He is known for his role as Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the comedy television series, Glee.

Salling was born in Dallas, Texas. He is the younger of two children of Condy Sue (née Wherry), a school secretary, and John Robert Salling, Jr., an accountant. He was home-schooled at an early age. Salling was raised in a "strict Christian home" and 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. While he attended high school, he was a member of the school wrestling team. Performing was also an integral part of his teenage years; he often performed in bars despite being underage and participated in school talent shows.

After graduating from high school, he attended the Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music in Pasadena, California and began studying guitar, giving guitar lessons to make a living.

Breaking as many hearts across the country as Nielson ratings, singer/songwriter/actor and spokesperson for KIIS FM Clear Channel's international "Safe Driving Campaign," MARK SALLING, whose brooding good looks could make you faint, rounds out the most-versatile cast to hit the FOX TV line-up, as bad-boy "Noah Puckerman," "Puck," on 19-time Emmy-nominated powerhouse series of the decade, "Glee." By the end of Season One (a June 2010 finale on-deck to serve all die-hard "Gleeks" with a mean withdrawal from a back-9 that came and went too soon), the show about the will of the underdog and importance of arts education, will have taken home a Golden Globe Award ("Best Television Series, Comedy/ Musical"), SAG Award ("Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series"), People's Choice Award ("Favorite New TV Comedy"), TV Land Award ("Future Classic Award"), GLAAD Award, Peabody Award, and multiple Teen Choice Awards (including "Best Comedy") while gracing countless coveted covers and pages of Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Teen Vogue, Maxim, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, etc. Guaranteed by the Los Angeles Times "to make you happy," repetitively stated by Entertainment Weekly as "something worth singing about," boldly proclaimed by TV Guide Magazine as "the year's happiest treat, a wondrous explosion of creative excess and musical bliss, uproariously funny and a true original cause to celebrate," and touted by virtually every weekly magazine as the "best new show," "Glee" has sent this newcomer cast of twelve on an expressway to fame. By the looks of it (effortlessly holds the #1-rank in its primetime slot with a 47% lead over its meekly-competitive nearest contender, and former front-runner ABC's "Lost"), they'll be basking in it for a while.

Set to debut his much-anticipated solo record "Pipe Dreams" on his own label "Pipe Dream Records" on October 12th, 2010 in partnership with Universal Music Group and Fontana Distribution, Salling chronicles the seven-year musical journey with a sound reminiscent of early classic Rock ‘n' Roll, alternative, and a 60's folk-beat era sound. He also serves as the writer/ performer/ producer on each track.

Starring opposite comic-genius Jane Lynch (40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, ROLE MODELS) and Broadway veteran Lea Michelle in the biggest TV phenomenon of the generation, Salling, whose soulful hazel eyes even take a backseat to his soulful sound, he has comfortably accepted the role as the show's breakout star and sex-symbol, as he brings to the already-talented ensemble an unparalleled dedication to the craft and a darker, alternative edge in music, looks and style. Musical background and villainous swagger in tow, Salling highlights the show created by Ryan Murphy (creator and executive behind "Nip/Tuck" and "Popular"), that recently claimed a record-shattering 13.6 million viewers in the highly-anticipated "Power of Madonna" episode, and stands as the highest-rated primetime series in all networks in the last decade, posing a critical threat for not only the nine o'clock timeslot but all Tuesday night programming, scripted and unscripted.

Always a musician first and at heart, Salling recently released his debut solo album "Smoke Signals," under the pseudonym "Jericho," and has already begun working on his sophomore album. A jack-of-all-trades, Salling plays guitar, piano, bass and drums while writing, producing and singing lead vocals on all his tracks and even lending his original songs to other artists as Josh Green and Danielle McKee. A sound unlike any other, Salling's music is an eclectic blend of indie and alternative rock, with the timelessness of Radiohead, and pop appeal of Coldplay. Drawing much of his inspiration from musical groundbreakers as Thom Yorke and Trent Reznor, Salling has committed to a lifestyle of perfecting his primary passion, branching out into all genres, jazz, country, rock, pop and even hip-hop.

A native of the Lonestar State, Salling (born Mark Wayne Salling) was born the youngest of two children (has an older brother, Matt) on August 17th in Dallas, Texas, to mother Condy, a school secretary, and father John, an accountant. Portraying a high school jock with an itch for music on "Glee" was not a far stretch as Salling grew up with similar interests. He was home-schooled early on and attended Providence Christian School and Our Redeemer Lutheran during elementary. By the time he enrolled at Lake Highlands Junior High and High School in his teens, he quickly became active in contact-heavy sports (wrestling, rugby, basketball, etc.) while still fine-tuning his guitar and piano-playing skills. As a junior and senior in high school, he often played cover gigs at his local hometown bar and performed in his school variety show. Music still at the core, Salling also enrolled in acting workshops at the Dallas Theatre and quickly booked a commercial before landing a role in the 1996 film CHILDREN OF THE CORN IV: THE GATHERING alongside Naomi Watts (THE RING, KING KONG) and Karen Black (Golden Globe-winner and Academy Award-nominee of FIVE EASY PIECES and EASY RIDER) as well as guest starring on "Walker, Texas Ranger" with Chuck Norris and the indie horror film "The Graveyard," all of which were shot in his hometown, and all of which led him to go after a career in entertainment.

Salling, with nothing but a suitcase and aspirations, moved to California, hoping to catch a break and make it on talent alone. But as with most who head out West, the beginning was slow-going-he attended the Los Angeles Music Academy in Pasadena, CA to study guitar under the tuition of Frank Gambale and got a job teaching guitar lessons while acting and scoring the music in several USC student films.

After seven years of tirelessly trying to catch a break in the music business, upon the advice of a few of his colleagues, Salling decided to check out LAcasting.com after hearing how they were always looking for people who could sing or play guitar, which led to him to give acting one last go as a last-ditch effort to not have to give up and move back home. They say "most people don't know how close they were to success before they gave up," and Salling was nearing exhaustion. After a do-or-die conversation with his brother, Salling had a fire lit under him which gave him the push he needed. He got a reel together, met with the one manager to give him a call after sending out 100 press packets, who in turn introduced him to an agent who submitted him for a role on a pilot that was described as a HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL for primetime TV. A career seven years in the making, and five agonizing auditions for "Glee" later, Salling booked the role of "Puck," the hardcore jock with musical stars in his eyes, which also landed him a coveted eight pages in GQ Magazine (June 2010 issue), being the first of his cast to infiltrate those pages.

When he's not filming the show that puts a modern twist on the idea of "glee club" by covering contemporary hits as "Don't Stop Believin'," "Gold Digger" by Kanye West and "Take a Bow" by Rihanna, or working on his personal projects, Salling can almost always be found behind a guitar or set of keys. Additionally, he enjoys keeping up with his fitness regime by playing basketball, frisbee golf and lifting weights while remaining a self-proclaimed bird-enthusiast and amateur ornithologist, volunteering with the James Hunter Wildlife Rescue charity. He enjoys jazz nights at local Hollywood bars and always makes sure there is time left over for his beloved Blue Heeler, "Hank."

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