Dennis Haskins, the actor who played Principal Richard Belding on “Saved by the Bell,” has died at 75. His agent, Jay Schachter, confirmed the death to ABC News. Haskins played the exasperated principal of Bayside High across several television series. His representative also confirmed the news to Fox News Digital, and former co-stars have since posted tributes. Fox News Digital reported that his cause of death is unknown.
Agent confirms Haskins died at 75
Schachter has represented Haskins for more than 20 years, CBS News reported. CBS quoted him calling Haskins a client and dear friend for over 20 years. Schachter told ABC News that Haskins absolutely “LOVED his fans”. Outlets differ on the timing.
The Associated Press story carried by TheSpokesman-Review said Haskins died Sunday night in a Burbank assisted living facility. ABC News reported that Schachter confirmed the death to it Sept. 28. UPI said no cause had been disclosed. UPI reported that Haskins was born Nov. 18, 1950, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Chattanooga roots and college years
Haskins attended Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga and then the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, NewsChannel 9 reported. The Chattanooga station said he served as entertainment chairman of the Student Government Association and was a founding member of the Harlequins community theater group.
He also helped organize a “Freaks vs. Fuzz” basketball game that raised scholarship money for the children of UTC and Chattanooga police officers, NewsChannel 9 reported, and he helped bring Ike and Tina Turner to campus in 1973. The Associated Press story carried by The Spokesman-Review said he then moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting.
Co-stars pay tribute to Haskins
Three “Saved by the Bell” actors posted tributes, TVLine reported. Mario Lopez wrote that Haskins was the “biggest kid on the SBTB set.” Lopez also said, per TMZ, that if there was karaoke, Haskins would be on the mic. He said he was grateful for the laughs, the memories and the friendship.
Accounts vary on where Lopez posted. TVLine said Instagram, while Entertainment Now said he commented on a post from his radio show’s account. Entertainment Now identified Lopez as A.C. Slater and Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle. Voorhies wrote on Instagram that she had known Haskins for almost 40 years and called knowing him one of “the truest blessings” of her life. That span lines up with the 1989 launch of the original series, roughly 37 years ago. Tiffani Thiessen wrote on Instagram about his steady presence and kindness during her teenage years, TMZ reported.
Karaoke, USO tours and Los Angeles friends
Haskins was a regular at Dimples Karaoke in Los Angeles. In a tribute quoted by TVLine, the bar called him “a staple” and said most people knew him as Mr. Belding but that he was much more than that. Kimberly Snow, a friend and caretaker, told the Associated Press that Haskins “just loved the place and its people.” Rolling Stone Canada reported that he released a karaoke album in 2009 and completed two USO tours entertaining troops. Townhall gave the album’s title as “Karaoke With Your Favorite Principal Dennis” and said it included a duet with Brooke Hogan. The album came out nine years after “The New Class” ended in 2000 and 17 years before his death.
Seven of 13 seasons came on the spinoff
TVLine reported that Haskins played Belding across 13 seasons. The count covers “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” (1988 to 1989), the original “Saved by the Bell,” “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” (1993 to 1994) and “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” (1993 to 2000). The outlet also listed two television movies, “Hawaiian Style” in 1992 and “Wedding in Las Vegas” in 1994. TVLine said “The New Class” ran seven years.
Seven of 13 seasons is 54%. More than half of Haskins’s seasons as Belding came on the spinoff, with a new generation of students, and fewer on the original show that followed Zack Morris, played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar. The Associated Press story counted seven series over 12 years.
Accounts differ on when it began. ABC News dated “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” to 1989, while UPI and the AP dated Belding’s debut to 1988. ABC reported that Haskins’s last appearance as Belding was a 2015 sketch on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” with original cast members. That is 26 years after the 1989 date and 27 after the 1988 date, and 15 years after “The New Class” ended. Haskins was 64 or 65 at the time, depending on the month of the taping, and had first played a high school principal in his late 30s.
Haskins’s other television and film credits
Accounts vary on where his screen career began. Rolling Stone Canada said Haskins made his onscreen debut in 1979 on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” and Townhall said he appeared in the show’s pilot. The Associated Press story said his television debut was as a workman on “Archie Bunker’s Place” in 1981.
CBS News reported that he guest-starred on “The Twilight Zone” and “Magnum, P.I.” and appeared in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Rolling Stone Canada listed “Mad Men,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “New Girl” and the film “A Million Ways to Die in the West.”
Townhall added “The Practice” and an installment titled “Magnum P.I.: Autumn Warrior,” and dated the film to 2014. TVLine added “CHiPs” and “The West Wing,” and said he appeared in 2017 music videos for Dirty Heads and Khalid.
