Merlin Santana
Merlin's first job was as a model for a fast food chain. From there he went on to his first big screen appearance as an extra in the Woody Allen film The Purple Rose of Cairo. But his fame truly came when he got the role of Rudy's friend Stanley on the series "The Cosby Show." He also played a sharp-tongued 15-year-old in the comedy series "Getting By," starring Cindy Williams and Telma Hopkins but unfortunately that didn't last long.
Other credits include a role in the drama series "Under One Roof," as Merlin starred opposite James Earl Jones, he was in the dramatic PBS special "Harambee" and also made guest appearances on "NYPD Blue," "Law & Order," "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper," "Moesha" and "Major Dad," not to mention his appearances on the daytime dramas "All My Children" and "As the World Turns."
Merlin's is perhaps best known as the popular high school student who was very popular with the ladies. He's worked alongside Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer along with others on the comedy series "The Steve Harvey Show."
One of Merlin’s final movie roles was in the movie "Showtime" with Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy. His past performances won him nominations for the NAACP Image Awards and the ALMA Awards -- which honor Hispanic performers. Merlin was born in the Bronx but moved out to Los Angeles to further his acting career. He was in the process of making that move back to New York to work on a career in rap.
He had already recorded about three albums which were never released, but he was preparing for his debut release. During the Summer of 2002, Merlin starred in a VH1 movie called "Play'd". Ironically, he played a rapper who was killed.
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