Dennis Haskins, the American actor and musician best known for playing the beloved Principal Belding on Saved by the Bell, died at 75. His agent, Jay Schachter, confirmed his death, although details were not given.
“It’s a tragic loss,” Schachter said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “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.”
Haskins initially played Principal Belding on the Disney Channel show Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was reworked after one season and became Saved by the Bell. Saved by the Bell ran on NBC from 1989-1993. Haskins reprised the character on Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which aired from 1993-2000. Principal Belding was known for his catchphrase: “Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?”
Haskins was born on Nov. 18, 1950 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He made his onscreen debut in 1979 in an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. He went on to appear in multiple episodes of the CBS series, each time playing a different role. He went on to play bit roles on Archie Bunker’s Place and Magnum PI: Autumn Warrior before being cast as Principal Belding.
Throughout his career, Haskins appeared on dozens of TV shows and in a few films, including Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West. His resume included episodes of Mad Men, Hot in Cleveland, New Girl, I’m Dying Up Here, How I Met Your Mother, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In 2015, he reunited with Saved by the Bell’s Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez, and Tiffani Thiessen for a sketch on The Tonight Show.
Haskins regularly performed music, and participated in two USO tours for troops in Kosovo, Macedonia, and Bosnia in 2000, and again in 2002 in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman, and Kyrgyzstan. He released his debut album, Karaoke With Your Favorite Principal Dennis, in 2009. He later made a cameo in Khalid’s music video for “Young Dumb & Broke,” playing a principal.
Kimberly Snow, Haskins’ friend and longtime caretaker, shared a tribute to the actor on the Instagram page for Dimples Karaoke, noting that he was a staple of the now-shuttered venue.
“A lot of people thought he owned it, but he didn’t,” she wrote. “He just loved the place and its people. He enjoyed singing for people, meeting them, and taking selfies with his fans. Dimples closed down about 11 years ago, and people still associate him with his beloved ‘second home.’ He was known to most as Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell, but to us, he was much more than that.”
She shared that Haskins became ill eight years ago with Parkinson’s, “among other health concerns.” “He did not want to have to tell people,” Snow wrote. “He would say, ‘What do I even say?’ So I respected his wishes and stayed quiet, and I helped him through his journey into the next chapter of his life. Late last night, that journey ended for him. He is now at peace and is probably entertaining the people in the sky.”
