Merlin Santana

Merlin Santana
Born	March 14, 1976(1976-03-14) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Died	November 9, 2002(2002-11-09) (aged 26) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1991–2002

Merlin Santana (March 14, 1976 – November 9, 2002) was an American actor and rapper. He is best known for his role as Keshia Knight Pulliam's admirer, Stanley on The Cosby Show and the high school student, Romeo Santana on The WB sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show.

Early life

Born in Upper Manhattan, New York to Dominican parents, Santana's career in show business began with a push from his parents who wanted to keep him off the tough streets of New York. He began his career at the age of three as an advertising model for a fast food chain. His first screen appearance was as an extra in the Woody Allen film, The Purple Rose of Cairo.

Career

In 1991, Santana landed a recurring role on The Cosby Show as Stanley, the faithful admirer of the young Rudy Huxtable and the romantic rival of Rudy's friend Kenny (Deon Richmond). He was then cast as Marcus Dixon in the short lived sitcom, Getting By, starring Cindy Williams and Telma Hopkins. Deon Richmond was cast as his brother Darren, due to their interaction on The Cosby Show.

In 1995, Santana was cast as Marcus Henry in the short-lived CBS family drama Under One Roof, co-starring with James Earl Jones, Joe Morton and Vanessa Bell Calloway. Between 1996 and 1999, he played the role of Ohagi on Moesha.

In 1996, he landed the role of Romeo Santana on The Steve Harvey Show. In 2001, he played the role of Jermaine in the movie Flossin . In 2002, he appeared in the VH1 TV movie, Play'd: A Hip Hop Story with Toni Braxton. That same year, Santana landed a role in the Eddie Murphy's comedy, Showtime. His last television acting role was on the UPN series, Half & Half, His last film role was a 2003 comedy, The Blues with fellow Cosby Show alum Deon Richmond.

Death

On November 9, 2002, Santana was fatally shot 6 times while sitting in a parked car in South Los Angeles. He was 26 years old. Santana was buried on November 18, 2002 at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.

Damien Andre Gates was later convicted of the first-degree murder of Santana and the attempted murder of another man in the car, and was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences plus 70 years in prison. Brandon Douglas Bynes received a 23-year sentence after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon. An officer involved in the case testified that Monique King, reportedly Gates' girlfriend and aged 15 at the time of Santana's death, falsely claimed that Santana had tried to rape her, which prompted Gates and Bynes to attack the car. King received eight years in juvenile custody.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Major Dad	Marvin	2 episodes
1991	Law & Order	Roneld Griggs	Episode: "Mushrooms"
1991	The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez	Newsboy
1991 to 1992	The Cosby Show	Stanley	7 episodes
1992	In the Line of Duty: Street War		Television movie
1993 to 1994	Getting By	Marcus Dixon	31 episodes
1994	Sister, Sister	Joey	Episode: "Joey's Choice"
1995	Under One Roof	Marcus	6 episodes
1995	Street Gear	Derick Davis	13 episodes
1995 to 1996	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Calvin	2 episodes
1996	Harambee!	Flex	Television movie
1996 to 1999	Moesha	Ohagi	5 episodes
1996 to 2002	The Steve Harvey Show	Romeo Santana	122 episodes
1997	NYPD Blue	Warren	Episode: "A Draining Experience"
2001	Flossin	Jermaine
2002	Showtime	Hector
2002	JAG	Seaman Aubrey McBride	Episode: "Port Chicago"
2002	Play'd: A Hip Hop Storythe end	Mayhem	Television movie
2002	Half & Half	Dante Aldente	Episode: "The Big Pimpin' Episode"
2003	The Blues	Goya	Direct-to-video release

External links

• Merlin Santana at the Internet Movie Database
• Merlin Santana at Find a Grave