Television fans are mourning the loss of one of the most familiar faces from Bayside High.

Dennis Haskins, the actor who played Principal Richard Belding on the hit sitcom Saved by the Bell, has died at 75.

Haskins died Sunday night in Burbank, California. His longtime friend and caretaker, Kimberly Snow, confirmed the death.

His agent, Jay Schachter, also confirmed the news. No official cause of death has been released.

Good Morning America reported the news Tuesday morning and looked back at the role that made Haskins a household name:

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The Associated Press reports that Schachter remembered Haskins as a warm, generous man who genuinely loved the fans who had followed him for decades. The agent said Haskins always made time for those fans and described losing both a longtime client and a dear friend.

That affection went both ways. For millions of viewers who grew up with the show, Haskins became far more than a sitcom authority figure.

Mr. Belding was part disciplinarian, part comic foil and, when the moment called for it, the adult who cared about the kids roaming the halls of Bayside.

The AP also traced Haskins’ path from Chattanooga to television. He was active in drama at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and helped establish a community theater group before making acting his career.

He also spent time working behind the scenes in music as a manager, agent and concert promoter. That experience came before guest roles in 1980s series such as The Twilight Zone and Magnum, P.I.

Fox News shared the agent’s confirmation and tribute:

Haskins first played Richard Belding on the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss. When that show was reworked into NBC’s Saved by the Bell, he stayed with the character and became one of the franchise’s defining performers.

The original series ran from 1989 to 1993, following Zack Morris, Kelly Kapowski, A.C. Slater, Jessie Spano, Lisa Turtle and Samuel “Screech” Powers through life at the fictional Bayside High.

Haskins’ booming “Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?” became one of the show’s signature lines. He could walk into the middle of almost any Zack Morris scheme and immediately let viewers know the trouble had finally reached the principal’s office.

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He later reprised Mr. Belding in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, along with appearances in the franchise’s television movies and the short-lived College Years spinoff. Across the various productions, he played the character for more than a decade.

Fans shared a memorable Mr. Belding moment as they mourned the actor who brought him to life:

The Los Angeles Times reports that Snow said Haskins had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease eight years ago and had been living in an assisted-care facility. She said he died at about 11 p.m. Sunday.

The paper noted that Haskins had largely withdrawn from public life in recent years as his health declined.

Co-star Lark Voorhies, who played Lisa Turtle, remembered nearly four decades of friendship with Haskins. She described knowing him as one of the great blessings of her life and remembered his kindness, loyalty, warmth and laughter.

Beyond Bayside, Haskins built a long list of television credits, with appearances on shows including The Dukes of Hazzard, Magnum, P.I., The Twilight Zone, Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Trending Politics notes that Haskins returned as Mr. Belding for a memorable 2015 sketch on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The reunion brought him back together with several original cast members, including Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez and Tiffani Thiessen.

The franchise later returned in a Peacock reboot in 2020, bringing Bayside and several alumni back for a new generation of students. Several familiar cast members took part, though Haskins did not appear in the revival.

Haskins was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1950. Before acting became his full-time career, he worked in music management and concert promotion.

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He later became a fixture at conventions and fan events, where he continued to embrace the role that made him famous.

His death is another painful loss for the Saved by the Bell family following the 2021 death of Dustin Diamond, who played Screech.

Dennis Haskins leaves behind a character that generations instantly recognized and a reputation for treating the people who loved that character with genuine kindness.

For the fans who grew up at Bayside, Mr. Belding will never be forgotten.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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