Mark Salling, who's best known for his mean jock character Noah "Puck" Puckerman on Glee, has every reason to be excited. He just got a new puppy, an Australian cattle dog (which he named Noah), and there's a lot in store for his character on Glee this season. He told me that he's going to be confronted with some very adult issues, which may include having to deal with his out-of-wedlock daughter, Beth, again (who's the result of a one-night stand with fellow Glee Club member Quinn Fabray, who was dating his best friend, Finn Hudson, at the time).
But things haven't always gone so well for Mark. Before hitting it big, Mark spent 7 years pursuing a professional music career in LA. He was just about to throw in the towel and move back to his native Texas when he decided to make one last-ditch effort -- sending out resumes and photos to 75 managers and agents. "I was at the very end," he told me. He received only one response. However, that manager led him to an agent who got him an audition, which turned into five "agonizing auditions" for a pilot show that was billed as a high school musical for primetime TV. As it turns out, Glee is about the will and fortitude of the underdog, and Mark's perseverance paid off with a role that changed the course of his life.
Now Mark is trying to change the course of the lives of other underdogs: hungry children. He's a spokesperson for ConAgra Food's Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. He cites his home state of Texas as second only to Arkansas in the number of children who go hungry, a number nearing 17 million nationwide. The solution is easy, he said. Get your school involved. Each ConAgra Foods UPC code saved buys one meal for a child.
That's something really worth singing about.
You can help me and Mark Salling raise money to feed hungry children. I'll donate half of the profit on every purchase of The Other Side of the Window for 48 hours from the time this blog entry is published to the campaign in Mark Salling's honor. Read more about it on Facebook and watch for Mark's (@Mark_Salling) tweets.