Here is what happened to the stars of the teen sitcom Saved by the Bell following the news of Patrick Muldoon's death.
Earlier today (20 April), it was revealed that Muldoon, who is best known for his work in Days of Our Lives and Melrose Place, had passed away at the age of 57, following a heart attack.
News of his death was confirmed by Deadline, with friends of Muldoon paying tribute to his 'rock ’n’ roll spirit'.
"[He] embraced each day with a full-tilt, rock ’n’ roll spirit," a friend of Muldoon's told the outlet, adding that he also 'loved animals and people alike, gave unforgettable hugs, and possessed a rare quality of making others feel safe and seen'.
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More recently, Muldoon appeared in the films Marlowe, Murder at Hollow Creek and worked as an executive producer on Sophie Turner and Kit Harrington's The Dreadful.
Prior to his breakout role in Days of Our Lives, Muldoon had a brief role in Saved by the Bell, playing the character of Jeffrey Hunter, who appeared across a number of episodes throughout season three.
Unfortunately, Muldoon is not the first Saved by the Bell character to pass away in recent months, with fellow actor Eric Dane dying from complications linked to ALS back in February.
Here is what some of the biggest stars of Saved by the Bell are up to now.
Eric Dane – 'Tad Pogue'
Earlier this year, Eric Dane passed away from ALS at the age of 53.
The actor was best known for playing Dr Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy and, more recently, Cal Jacobs on HBO's Euphoria.
Season three of the Sam Levinson-created series included Dane's final acting performance, with the character appearing in the latest episode.
Levinson recently discussed how he adapted certain aspects of Cal Jacobs to accommodate Dane's diagnosis. "He showed up, and I could tell he had a slight slur in his voice, and he told me that," Levinson explained in a recent interview with Extra.
"I said, 'Don’t worry. We’ll just put, like, five beer bottles in front of you and you’ve been drinking all night.' He was like, 'Perfect, perfect.' And his character, it was such a gift."
Dane's major acting breakthrough came in 90's teen sitcom Saved By The Bell, with a brief appearance as Tad Pogue in a 1991 episode.
He only appeared in the show once, in a season three episode called 'The Game', where he played a character named Tad Pogue. It was his professional television debut.
His family’s statement said that he ‘spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the centre of his world’, adding: “He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received.”
Dustin Diamond – 'Screech'
Dane and Muldoon aren't the only actors who've since passed away after appearing on the series, as Dustin Diamond died in 2021 from small-cell carcinoma.
Appearing as the iconic character Screech, Diamond was one of the main stars and appeared in every iteration of the series and its subsequent spin-offs.
In 2015, the actor served a three-month prison sentence after being found with a switchblade at a bar.
Two years later, the actor came forward and apologised to the rest of the cast after claiming in a 2009 book that they were involved in ‘sexual relationships’ and smoking cannabis in dressing rooms. Diamond said that he was 'railroaded' into this by a ghostwriter.
In addition to this, Diamond appeared in an adult film he distributed in 2016, though he later admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he felt ‘embarrassed’ and had used a body double with his face digitally imposed.
Diamond died of lung cancer in January 2021 at the age of 44, three weeks after being diagnosed with the disease.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen – 'Zack and Kelly'
Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen had an on-and-off romance before their characters were revealed to be the Governor and First Lady of California in the reboot series.
The actors also dated in real life during filming, with Gosselaar saying he dated all three major female co-stars on the show. He later called the relationships ‘incestuous’, with Thiessen also dating co-star Mario Lopez.
Both have gone on to have semi-successful acting careers, with Gosselaar also starring in NYPD Blue and Franklin & Bash.
Thiessen also appeared in 81 episodes of White Collar and is set to star in an upcoming reboot of the show.
Mario Lopez – 'A.C. Slater'
Mario Lopez’s pivot into presenting has been so successful that many won’t even realise that he was first an actor on Saved by the Bell.
Hosting Access Hollywood, The X-Factor, and Extra, he has made occasional small forays back into acting.
This included returning for the 2020 Peacock reboot of the show as the gym teacher.
Though the actor has been married to Courtney Mazza since 2012, he went through a pretty high-profile marriage controversy years prior.
Lopez married actress Ali Landry in 2004 in a ceremony in Mexico, though their marriage was annulled just two weeks later after it was revealed he was unfaithful at his bachelor party.
Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, TV
Brenna Cooper