Dennis Haskins, the actor who starred as Mr. Belding on Saved By the Bell has died at the age of 75.
According to Variety, Haskins’ agent Jay Schachter, confirmed the actor’s passing:
“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. He was my client and dear friend for over 20 years, and I will miss him terribly. I’m heartbroken.”
No cause of death has been made official at this time. However, Haskins had reportedly been privately battling Parkinson’s disease for roughly eight years, according to a tribute from his longtime friends at Dimples Karaoke Bar.
Haskins portrayed the principal of Bayside High on Saved by the Bell for over a decade across multiple shows and movies. He was first cast in the pre-Saved by the Bell show Good Morning, Miss Bliss with The Parent Trap‘s Hayley Mills in 1988, before being retooled into Saved by the Bell as fans know it. Haskins’ last official appearance as Mr. Belding was in the final season of Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which concluded its run in 2000. He would play or voice various versions of the character in future appearances. In 2012, he would reprise the role on the Nickelodeon show Victorious, and his final portrayal of the character was in 2015 for the Saved by the Bell reunion on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, but those were only non-canon cameos and parody skits.
America’s Principal
Dennis Haskins was a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, born there on November 18th, 1950. As a hint of his future career in film and TV, during college he served as the student government’s entertainment chair, bringing Ike & Tina Turner to campus in 1973 and booking an early Chaka Khan show for $750. He also worked as manager, agent, and concert promoter before becoming an actor. Haskins’ love for his alma mater continued throughout the years. In 2015, he donated his working scripts and memorabilia from Saved By The Bell, including a screen-worn Belding suit, to the University of Tennessee.
In 1979, Haskins would appear as Moss in the series premiere of Dukes of Hazzard. He would return to the show as a utility player, portraying multiple one-off characters. Over the years he would appear in small roles on The West Wing, How I Met Your Mother, Mad Men, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, New Girl, and the movies Max Keeble’s Big Move and A Million Ways to Die in the West. None of them, though, would compare to his long tenure as Principal Belding.
Outside of acting, Haskins had a deep love of singing. He was a regular at Dimples Karaoke Bar, a now-defunct establishment in Burbank across from the Warner Bros. lot. You could find him there most nights, happy to welcome a new actor to town or a new singer to the stage. He would even release an album of his favorite go-to karaoke songs, Karaoke With Your Favorite Principal Dennis Haskins A.K.A. Mr. Belding, including songs like “School’s Out,” “California Dreamin’,” and “Friends in Low Places.”
Haskins portrayed Belding over the course of three Saved by the Bell series and two movies, with his character only missing from one major arc during the original run. He was one of only two actors who continued with the show through Saved by the Bell: The New Class‘s extended run, with Dustin Diamond reprising his role as Screech. He was also one of the few actors from the original series not to appear in the 2020 reboot of the show, noting that his character had long ago retired.
As the only adult who actually seemed to be in some of these kids’ lives, Haskins knew Mr. Belding was carrying a lot of weight with the audience. The character often had to go beyond being a school administrator and step in as a surrogate parent when the kids were in crisis. That’s what he loved about the character. “He always stood up for the kids. He always did what’s right for them, and I’m very proud of that.”
Which Saved by the Bell episode has your favorite Principal Belding performance? Let us know in the comments.