Marcus A. York
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Mark York (November 27, 1965 – May 19, 2021), also known as Marcus A. York, was an American actor best known for his role as Billy Merchant in
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
''. He also had roles in '' CSI: NY'', ''
8 Simple Rules ''8 Simple Rules'' (originally ''8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter'') is an American television sitcom originally starring John Ritter and Katey Sagal as middle-class parents Paul and Cate Hennessy, raising their three children. ...
'', and ''
A.I. Artificial Intelligence ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (or simply ''A.I.'') is a 2001 American science fiction drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay by Spielberg and screen story by Ian Watson are loosely based on the 1969 short story " Supertoy ...
'' (2001).


Early life

Mark York, also known as Marcus A. York, was born on November 27, 1965, in
Arcanum, Ohio Arcanum ( ) is a village in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,457 at the 2020 census. History Arcanum was laid out in 1849. The Greenville and Miami railroad arrived to Arcanum in 1852, connecting it to Dayton and much of ...
. He was raised in Ohio and graduated from Arcanum High School in 1986. In 1993, he was accepted into Anderson University in Indiana. While attending university, he appeared as an
extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...
in the film ''
Going All the Way ''Going All the Way'' is a 1997 American comedy-drama film directed by Mark Pellington, in his feature film directorial debut. The film was written by Dan Wakefield, based on his 1970 novel and stars Jeremy Davies, Ben Affleck, Amy Locane, Rac ...
'' (1997). He graduated in 1997 with three
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
s in psychology, sociology, and social work. In July 1999, York moved to
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
, California to pursue an acting career.


Career

York was best known for his role as Billy Merchant, the no-nonsense building manager for the Scranton business park, in
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'' and appeared in four episodes. He first played Merchant in the twelfth episode of the second season entitled "
The Injury "The Injury" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's eighteenth episode overall. The episode was written by Mindy Kaling, who also acts in the show as Kelly Kapoor, and ...
", and later reprised the role in that season's finale episode "
Casino Night "Casino Night" is the second season finale of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the twenty-eighth episode overall. Written by Steve Carell, who also acts in the show as Michael Scott, and directed by Ken Kwapis, the ep ...
". After his portrayal of the character, York received several positive fan letters, who praised his performance as the straight man in a hectic work environment. He reprised the role in two further episodes: "
Fun Run A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors prov ...
" and "
Dream Team #REDIRECT Dream Team {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
". York also had roles in '' CSI: NY'', ''
8 Simple Rules ''8 Simple Rules'' (originally ''8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter'') is an American television sitcom originally starring John Ritter and Katey Sagal as middle-class parents Paul and Cate Hennessy, raising their three children. ...
'', ''
Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...
'', ''
Mind of Mencia ''Mind of Mencia'' is an American comedy television series on the cable channel Comedy Central. Hosted by comedian Carlos Mencia, it aired over the course of four seasons from July 6, 2005 to July 23, 2008. History The first season of ''Min ...
'', '' Six Feet Under'' and an uncredited appearance in ''
A.I. Artificial Intelligence ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (or simply ''A.I.'') is a 2001 American science fiction drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay by Spielberg and screen story by Ian Watson are loosely based on the 1969 short story " Supertoy ...
'' (2001). He has appeared in independent films such as ''A Man in the Dark'', ''An Unchanged Melody'', and ''Wounded Rose'', along with television advertisements for companies like
AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
and
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
. York spoke of the need for more acting roles for people in wheelchairs. "If they're not in the script, the casting director doesn't have balls enough to cast someone in a wheel chair," he said. "It's a character type that's not written for a lot, and they don't reflect true America – 20 percent of Americans have one or more disabilities, but yet 0.05 percent speaking roles on television reflect that community."


Personal life

From 1988 until his death, York had been a
paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...
and used a wheelchair due to an
automobile accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collision, collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, Utility pole ...
. He said of the accident, "I reached in my back seat for my gym bag and, with my left hand, inadvertently pulled up on the steering wheel too much." He had been driving 60 miles per hour, and his car hit a ditch, flipped, and landed in a cornfield. He was an avid sports fan supporting the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
,
Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...
, and
Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...
. York served as the
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
representative for Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Research Advancement, to help find a cure for
spinal cord injuries A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...
with non-embryonic stem cells. In January 2010, he and Will Ambler, founder of the organization, met with Kareem Dale, then
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's special assistant for disability policy and proposed changes surrounding such policy. He died on May 19, 2021, aged 55, at
Miami Valley Hospital Premier Health Miami Valley Hospital is a large urban hospital in Dayton, Ohio. It is part of the Premier Health Partners network. The hospital has two additional locations: Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville, Ohio, and Miami Valley H ...
, Ohio, due to "a brief and unexpected illness".
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coroner's office said he died of natural causes. Fellow ''The Office'' actors
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie Kirk ( Fischer; born March 7, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Fischer, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the P ...
,
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director. He starred as Dwight Schrute on NBC's American adaptation of ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013, and received t ...
, and
Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The O ...
paid tribute. He was survived by his mother, father, and his three brothers.


Filmography


Television


Film


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:York, Mark 1965 births 2021 deaths Actors from Ohio Anderson University (Indiana) alumni 21st-century American male actors American male television actors People with paraplegia