Merlin Santana (March 14, 1976 – November 9, 2002) was an American actor and rapper. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, Santana was best known for his roles as Rudy Huxtable's boyfriend Stanley on ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'', Marcus Dixon on '' Getting By'', Marcus Henry in '' Under One Roof'' and Romeo Santana on

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

sitcom ''

The Steve Harvey Show ''The Steve Harvey Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan that aired on The WB from August 25, 1996 to February 17, 2002, with a total of 122 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. Syn ...

'' (19962002). He was also known for his recurring role as Ohagi on the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

sitcom ''

Moesha ''Moesha'' (, ) is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars Contemporary R&B, R&B singer Brandy Norwood, Brandy as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with ...

''. On November 9, 2002, Santana was shot dead in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

by 19-year-old Damien Andre Gates, ordered by Gates' girlfriend Monique King, who falsely accused Santana of making sexual advances towards her.

Early life

Born in Washington Heights, New York City to parents from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, 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 Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

film, ''

The Purple Rose of Cairo ''The Purple Rose of Cairo'' is a 1985 American period fantasy romantic comedy film, written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Depression-era New Jersey, it stars Mia Farrow as a film lover who flees her abusive husband (Danny Aiello) after ...

''.

Acting career

In 1991, Santana landed a recurring role on ''

'' as Stanley, the boyfriend of

Rudy Huxtable Rudith Lillian "Rudy" Huxtable is a fictional character who appears on the American sitcom ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992). Portrayed by actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, Rudy is the youngest child of Cliff Huxtable, Cliff and Clair Huxtable. Fi ...

and the 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 Cynthia Jane Williams (August 22, 1947 – January 25, 2023) was an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcoms ''Happy Days'' (1975–1979), and ''Laverne & Shirley'' (1976–1982). She a ...

and

Telma Hopkins Telma Louise Hopkins (born October 28, 1948) is an American actress and pop singer. Hopkins rose to prominence as a member of the pop group Tony Orlando and Dawn, who had several number-one songs. She also performed on the CBS variety show ''T ...

. Deon Richmond was cast as his brother Darren, due to their interaction on ''The Cosby Show''. In November 1994, Santana appeared on '' Sister, Sister'' as Joey, who falls in love with Tia and Tamera ( Tia and

Tamera Mowry Tamera Darvette Mowry-Housley (née Mowry) () (born July 6, 1978) is an American actress, television personality, and former singer. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/ WB sitcom '' Sister, Sister'' (opposite h ...

) at Rocket Burger. In 1995, Santana was cast as Marcus Henry in the short-lived

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

family drama '' Under One Roof'', co-starring with

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

Joe Morton Joseph Thomas Morton Jr. (born October 18, 1947) is an American actor. Known as a character actor for his numerous roles on stage, television and film, he has received several awards including a Primetime Emmy Award as well as a nomination for ...

and

Vanessa Bell Calloway Vanessa Bell Calloway ( Bell; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress. Beginning her career as a dancer, Bell Calloway became known for her film roles as Princess Imani Izzi in the 1988 comedy ''Coming to America'' and its sequel. Since the ...

. Between 1996 and 1999, he played the role of Ohagi on ''

''. In 1996, he landed the role of Romeo Santana on ''

''. In 2001, he played the role of Jermaine in the movie ''Flossin''. In 2002, he appeared in the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

, ''Play'd: A Hip Hop Story'' with

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won seven ...

. That same year, Santana had a role in the

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

comedy '' Showtime''. His last television acting role was on the

series, '' Half & Half'', while his last film role was in the 2003 comedy film, ''The Blues'' with Deon Richmond.

Murder and burial

On November 9, 2002, Santana was murdered while sitting in a car in

. Santana and his friend, actor Brandon Adams, had just left an acquaintance's home in the Crenshaw District when Damien Andre Gates, 19 at the time, fired the shot that entered through the trunk of the vehicle in which Santana was a passenger. The bullet penetrated the right-front passenger headrest and entered Santana's head, killing him. Santana was buried at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

borough of New York City. He was survived by his daughter, Melinda.

Trial and allegations against Gates

In 2003, Gates was convicted of the

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

of Santana and the

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

of Adams and was sentenced to three consecutive

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

s plus 70 years in prison. Brandon Douglas Bynes, who was 23 at the time and was with Gates during the shooting, received a 23-year sentence after pleading guilty to

voluntary manslaughter Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human in which the offender acted in the heat of passion, a state that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they cannot reasonably control thei ...

and

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

with a deadly weapon. An

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

officer involved in the case testified that Monique King, reportedly Gates's girlfriend, only aged 15 at the time, falsely claimed that Santana made sexual advances towards her, which prompted the attack. In January 2004, King was found guilty of second-degree murder and attempted murder, but was acquitted on two murder charges, receiving ten years in juvenile custody as a result of Santana's death.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santana, Merlin 1976 births 2002 deaths 2002 murders in the United States 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male child actors American child models American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Murdered actors American murder victims American people of Dominican Republic descent Burials at Saint Raymond's Cemetery (Bronx) Deaths by firearm in California Deaths from bleeding Hispanic and Latino American male actors Male actors from Manhattan People murdered in Los Angeles Rappers from New York City