Many are still in shock after the sudden death of former Glee actor Mark Salling on Tuesday, January 30, including those who worked closely with him over the six seasons of the popular series.
Although an official cause of death has not been revealed, reports indicate Salling died from suicide by hanging at the age of 35 while he awaited sentencing in a disturbing child pornography case.
Matthew Morrison, who starred as Will Schuester on the hit Fox show from 2009-15, paid tribute to the actor on social media. Morrison shared a haunting photo of himself with Cory Monteith on one side, who died at the age of 31 after an overdose, and Salling on his other side. Morrison simply captioned the photo with two angel emojis and one sad emoji representing himself.
Glee producer Tim Davis also shared his thoughts after Salling’s passing, tweeting, “Let me be clear. Having compassion for #MarkSalling in no way minimizes his crimes, nor does it minimize the pain and devastation of the victims of those crimes. I’m just saying stop adding to his family’s pain. This was their son. If you’re without sin, feel free to cast stones.”
Meanwhile, former Glee actress Jane Lynch told TMZ that Salling’s death is “[s]ad and very tragic,” and added how she chooses to remember the late actor. “As the guy who made that really sweet video in the beginning of Glee when he was so happy to be a part of this group,” she said. “It’s tragic and I’m brokenhearted over it.”
Salling pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor on Oct. 4, 2017. After striking a plea deal in December, he was due to be sentenced in March and expected to serve four to seven years in prison.