Dennis Haskins, the beloved actor who played Principal Richard Belding on the classic tv show Saved by the Bell has died at the age of 75. His agent, Jay Schachter, announced the sad news on Monday.
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Schachter called Haskins a longtime client and close friend. He said Haskins was a great person who “absolutely LOVED” his fans. “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.” The cause of death has not been shared.
Haskins first played Belding on the Disney Channel show Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was retooled and became Saved by the Bell on NBC, airing from 1989 to 1993. He kept the role going in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which ran until 2000. He was the only adult actor in the cast to make the jump when the show changed.
Before Bayside High, Haskins was grinding in Hollywood like everybody else. His first time on screen came in 1979, on an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. Later he showed up in shows like Mad Men, New Girl, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, plus the movie A Million Ways to Die in the West. But Belding was the role that made him a household name.
Haskins also knew how much people loved the character, and he leaned into it. Years later, he turned Mr. Belding into a bar and club act, visiting cities to party with fans who grew up on the show. He once told Fox that Mr. Belding is universal. Fans would wait in long lines just to snap a picture with him and hear that famous laugh. He played the role one last time in 2015, in a sketch on The Tonight Show with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez and Tiffani Thiessen.
This loss stings a little more because the Bayside crew keeps getting smaller. Dustin Diamond, who played Screech, died in 2021 at age 44. Now Mr. Belding is gone too. Haskins is survived by his son, Dustin. Rest easy, Mr. Belding.