Dennis Haskins, the actor generations of television fans knew as Principal Richard Belding on Saved by the Bell, has died. He was 75. PEOPLE confirmed the news Monday, Sept. 28, with his agent, Jay Schachter, calling it “a tragic loss.”
“Everyone loved Mr. Belding and those of us who got to know Dennis, loved him even more,” Schachter told the outlet. “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.” A cause of death has not been made public.
Born Nov. 18, 1950, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Haskins first played the good-hearted Bayside principal on Disney Channel’s Good Morning, Miss Bliss in 1988. When NBC retooled the series as Saved by the Bell in 1989, he was one of the few cast members to make the jump, and he stayed through all four seasons alongside Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Dustin Diamond, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Lark Voorhies.
He carried Belding into Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which ran from 1993 to 2000, guested on The College Years, and reunited with the original cast for a Tonight Show sketch in 2015. His exasperated catchphrase, “Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?”, became one of the most quoted lines of 1990s television.
Beyond Bayside, Haskins worked steadily for decades, with credits including The West Wing, Mad Men, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, Hot in Cleveland, 7th Heaven, Victorious, JAG, The Practice, and A Million Ways to Die in the West.
Remembering Dennis Haskins
Dimples Karaoke Bar in Burbank, where Haskins was a regular, shared an extended tribute on Instagram, writing that “Dennis was a staple at Dimples” who loved singing for people, meeting them, and taking selfies with his fans. The bar disclosed that Haskins fell ill “about eight years ago” and that one of the health conditions he kept private was Parkinson’s, “because he did not want the attention.” “What a cool and amazing life he had. Rest in peace, Dennis. You were very much loved and will never be forgotten,” the tribute concluded.
TDN will update this story as tributes arrive.
He is survived by his son, Dustin.