The Office Actor Mark York Dies at 55

The Office star Mark York has died. TMZ is reporting the actor died last week following a brief and sudden illness. At the time, he was being treated at Miami Valley Hospital in Ohio, and a cause of development hasn’t immediately been made public. He was 55.

York is most known for his work on the NBC sitcom. On the show, he played Billy Merchant, the manager of the office building the Dunder-Mifflin officers are located in. In total, York appeared in four episodes of The Office, including “The Injury” and “Casino Night.” His other Office credits came in “Fun Run,” and “Dream Team.”

In “The Injury,” Michael Scott (Steve Carell) calls York’s character to compare injuries after burning his foot on a George Foreman Grill. The actor then appears in “Casino Night,” as one of Dunder-Mifflin’s numerous guests at the themed warehouse party.

His roles in the other two episodes are more limited — in “Fun Run,” he partakes in the 5-kilometer race in support of Scott’s new-found rabies charity, and in “Dream Team,” Merchant rents out another office to the Michael Scott Paper Company.

“Even though he has been paraplegic since, 1988, he had such an outgoing, uplifting, positive attitude and personality,” an obituary of the actor reads. “He always tried to look at what he could accomplish and do, not what he couldn’t do. He had experienced many travel opportunities and many dreams for the future. In the past several years, he had been working as an inventor, and had obtained two patents for his inventions.”

Other acting credits include CSI: New York and AI Artificial Intelligence. His first professional credit came on Mark Pellington’s Going All the Way (1997).

“Mark could quote so many lines from movies and tell you who particular actors were in most movies. He spent many years living in California where he had many exciting moments pursuing his acting opportunities,” his obit adds. “He has appeared in shows such as the Office (as Billy Merchant) and CSI New York, among many other shows which can all be seen on his website, marcusayork.com. He was an avid sports fan, ALL sports, and especially liked the Cincinnati Reds, Ohio State football, and Kentucky Wildcats basketball. Mark also loved coming home to his mom’s house and playing numerous table games with her and his brother Brian for hours on end. He was a competitive spirit that kept them laughing throughout their time together. He will be deeply missed by all the lives he has touched.”

He is survived by his parents and brothers.