actor and rapper merlin santana was born in new york city on march 14
1976 to immigrant parents from the dominican republic his birth was actually a magical miracle
ironically that's also how he got his name he was born extremely premature doctors believe that he
would surely have physical and mental health problems however he was perfect so since he
magically defied all the odds his parents named him merlin after the 1940s fictional character
merlin the magician his family lived in the washington heights area a rough drug-infested
neighborhood his mother got the idea to put him in the arts to get him off the streets and keep him
out of trouble she saw a lot of his friends going down the wrong path so she got merlin
involved in modeling first which led into acting he landed his first job at the tender age of three
after his mother had a chance encounter with a talent agent the agent encouraged
merlin to audition for a national fast food ad campaign he got that job and many more after
he also stood out compared to other actors his age because he was bilingual he spoke both english
and spanish fluently then his big break would come when he landed the role of stanley rudy huxtable's
boyfriend on the cosby show in 1991 bill cosby actually hand-picked merlin to appear on the show
after seeing him in a play the previous year his character was also a rival of rudy's friend
kenny played by deon richmond the two boys would become fast friends and get to work together again
playing brothers in the short-lived sitcom getting by starring cindy williams and telma hopkins that
same year merlin would also make a memorable guest appearance on one episode of sister sister as the
love interest of both twins tia and tamara merlin would get another shot at another short-lived
sitcom called under one roof the following year he starred as marcus henry alongside james earl jones
joe morton and vanessa bell callaway hello my sisters hey ohagi another standout role would
come in 1996 when he played moesha's poetry writing boyfriend ohagi on the sitcom moesha
in the cool sweet morning under the starlit night zone
he would appear a handful of times over the span of three years
also that year he would land the role he would become most known for
as high school student and heartthrob romeo santana on the steve harvey show he would play
the role for the entire six year run of the show and earn nominations for the naacp image awards
and alma awards the character having the same last name as him was no coincidence merlin himself
advocated for the use of his own name to shed light on the different shades and colors that make
up the latin community he believed that many times when people think latino they have a specific
look in mind and he wanted to highlight latinos that are black and dominican like him as well
merlin would do a variety of television show guest spots and small movie roles for a short time
following the end of the steve harvey show he would also dive into his music more he had always
been a rapper but couldn't devote as much time to it in the past as he would have liked to because
of his acting commitments unfortunately his career and life would soon come to a tragic end
merlin and his friend fellow actor brandon adams were at a restaurant where they met up
with a young girl and her friend the girl told merlin that her name was mercedes the group of
four proceeded to have dinner and then went to a club at some point in the night merlin and
mercedes would end up having a one night stand and then go their separate ways the next day
merlin and mercedes would meet up again however merlin wasn't showing her the same attention
that he did the night before and mercedes didn't like that the following night on november 9 2002
after leaving the home of an acquaintance in the crenshaw district of los angeles
merlin and brandon were sitting in a car parked outside they both noticed a red laser shining
through the back window when they looked to see what it was they were ambushed with gunfire
brandon drove off and after stopping at a safe spot he noticed merlin slumped over a 12-gauge
shotgun bullet entered through the trunk penetrated through the back seat and also
the right front passenger headrest where merlin was sitting entering his head and killing him
he was 26 years old in 2003 damien gates was convicted of the first degree murder of merlin
and the attempted murder of his friend brandon he was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences
plus 70 years in prison another individual who was firing a handgun during the crime brandon
bynes pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon he received a 23-year
sentence it would later be revealed in court that mercedes whose real name is monique king
and who was only 15 at the time was the one that set the attack on merlin in motion she falsely
accused merlin of making sexual advances towards her to her friends damien gates and brandon bynes
the reason for monique's outrageous actions can possibly be found while taking a deep dive
into her background throughout her troubled youth she'd been in numerous foster homes
she had a history of manipulating people to get what she wanted or to get people to do
what she wanted monique was found guilty of second-degree murder and attempted murder
in january 2004 she received 10 years in juvenile custody in a television interview with kcbs tv
steve harvey spoke about the senseless murder this kid is not a gangster whatever the situation was
he didn't deserve to die merlin's last television acting role was on the upn series half and half
while his last film role was a 2003 comedy film titled the blues with longtime
friend deon richmond he is survived by his parents siblings and daughter
thanks for watching please like share and comment also don't forget to subscribe
and turn on your notifications so you won't miss any future videos see you next time you