Saved by the Bell star Dennis Haskins dies aged 75
Dennis Haskins, who is best-known for playing Principal Richard Belding on Saved by the Bell, has died aged 75.
In a statement shared with ABC News, his agent Jay Schachter said: "It's a tragic loss.
“Everyone loved Mr. Belding and those of us who got to know Dennis, loved him even more. He was a great person, and he loved, I mean absolutely LOVED his fans. He always had time for them, no matter what.
“He was my client and dear friend for over 20 years, and I will miss him terribly.”
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Haskins’ cause of death has not been released.
Haskins’ career began back in the late 1970s with several appearances in The Dukes of Hazzard.
But he is best remembered for playing Principal Belding in Saved by the Bell for more than 10 years.
He initially played the role in the hit show’s original run from 1989 to 1993 alongside the likes of Mario Lopez, Tiffani Thiessen, Lark Voorhies, and the late Dustin Diamond and was known for trying - and usually failing - to keep the high-schoolers in line.
After the original run drew to a close, Haskins’ reprised the role for the spin-off series Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which ran for another seven years and saw him reusing his popular catchphrase: "Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?"
In 2015, he appeared on an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, alongside several of his Saved by the Bell co-stars and he played Principal Belding once again in a short sketch.
In a 2013 interview with Parade, Haskins opened up about playing the legendary principal.
He shared: “When we got to the full-on Saved by the Bell, I knew it was something special because the energy was different, the kids were a little bit older, the dynamic was great between everybody, and we were having a great time.
“We did twenty episodes and we were done. We didn’t have a long-term contract. They brought us back when the show went on TBS in the afternoons and kids discovered it there and came back to Saturday morning. That’s when the show took off. So it was a gradual process. It was a warm, fuzzy thing. They got to know us and we got to know them. It was a wonderful growing process."
He also said that he got the ‘best job of all’ as unlike the kids who grew up and left the fictional school, he got to stay on and welcome a new generation of rowdy high-schoolers with the spin-off series.
Away from his role in Saved by the Bell, Haskins appeared in a slew of other shows and movies including New Girl, Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother and A Million Ways to Die in the West.
He also appeared in the music video for Khalid's Young Dumb & Broke where he, once again, played a principal and could be seen making an end of year announcement over the school's intercom.
Topics: US News, Entertainment
Claire Reid