'The Office' Mark York Dead: Cause of Death, Obituary, and More Details
Marcus A. York, popularly known by his character Billy Merchant in the early seasons of "The Office", dies at the age of 55.
According to TMZ, York died last week at the Miami Valley Hospital in Ohio. His exact cause of death has not been confirmed but according to the outlet, the actor died following an illness.
The actor only appeared in a few episodes of the popular comedy TV series but his notable appearance is at the 14th episode of the second season titled "The Injury" where he was brought to a disability-awareness meeting.
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In the episode, Steve Carell's popular character, Michael Scott compares his injury to York's character when he injured his foot after stepping on a grill, he then organized a conference session about disability awareness alongside his colleagues.
York appears to be in a wheelchair during the show because his lower body had been paralyzed since 1988. According to IMDb, he was partially paralized because of a spinal injuries that happened after an automobile accident, the profile also stated that the actor's "mission is to change Hollywood's stereotypical views of wheelchair users."
His obituray stated that even though he's paraplegic, the actor had an outgoing, uplifting, positive attitude, and personality.
it was this guy!! he was like “have you seen any episodes of the office?” & I was like “oh yes all of them multiple times” lmao and he said “I played Billy Merchant I was in the episode where Michael burnt himself on the George Foreman grill!” it was so unexpected I was livinggg pic.twitter.com/3a2jLTvKUo
— hayles (@tameofpaula) December 16, 2019
York spent his early days in Ohio, but he eventually left the state and moved to California to pursue an acting career. According to his obituary, he graduated from Arcanum High School, and was a triple major graduate from Anderson University.
Besides his memorable "The Office" gig, the actor also appeared in "CSI: New York" as Richard Keith in 2004, "Fighting Worlds" as Big Al in 2007, and "Profile" as Jack in 2008.
Fans took to Twitter to send their condolences to the actor's family.
"RIP. Prayers and condolences to his family. 'The Office' Actor Mark York Who Played Billy Merchant, Dead at 55" a Twitter user wrote
"Very young, may he rest in peace" another fan wrote
According to TMZ, York had spent his last days working as an inventor, he recently secured 2 patents for his inventions. He was also a big sports fan as he supports Cincinnati Reds, Kentucky Wildcats basketball, and Ohio State football fan.
York doesn't have any children but he's survived by his brother, mother, and father.
