Dennis Haskins, Mr. Belding of "Saved by the Bell," Dies at 75

Dennis Haskins, the actor who played Principal Richard Belding across the entire“Saved by the Bell”franchise, died Sunday in Burbank, California, at age 75. According to the New York Times, he had been living with Parkinson’s disease for the past eight years. Haskins first put on the principal’s suit for“Good Morning, Miss Bliss”in 1988 and stayed with the role through“Saved by the Bell: The New Class”in 2000, making him one of the few constants in a universe full of rotating casts.

The tributes came fast. Mario Lopez, who played A.C. Slater, wrote that Dennis was the biggest kid on the SBTB set, adding that if you knew him, you loved him. Lark Voorhies, our Lisa Turtle, said knowing him for almost 40 years was one of the truest blessings of her life. Fox Sports commentator Tim Brando, a friend of Haskins for decades, remembered him as a charming man with a huge heart. Fans also loved that Haskins was a longtime karaoke regular at a Burbank bar, proof that the guy behind the desk was every bit as fun as the character he played.

His death also shines a light on Parkinson’s disease, which affects close to a million Americans, and it lands with extra weight since we lost his castmate Dustin Diamond, our Screech, back in 2021. Bayside may be fictional, but the nostalgia is real. So we want to hear from you: what’s the Mr. Belding moment you’ll never forget?