Dennis Haskins, who played the exasperated but lovable Principal Richard Belding on “Saved by the Bell,” died of Parkinson’s disease, according to his death certificate. He was 75.
TMZ obtained the document from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. It lists Parkinson’s as the immediate cause of death and places the date at September 27, at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. The certificate also records irritable bowel syndrome, depression, hypertension and an enlarged prostate as other significant conditions.
The finding closes a week of silence. Haskins’ agent, Jay Schachter, confirmed the death days after it occurred but did not disclose a cause. “Everyone loved Mr. Belding,” Schachter said in a statement, adding that Haskins devoted time to his fans without exception. Haskins had been his client and friend for more than two decades.
The diagnosis surprised almost everyone around him. Reports say doctors identified the disease in 2018, and Haskins kept it private. His ex-wife, Sarah Quinones, told TMZ he withdrew from close confidants to protect that secret and spent his final years in an assisted-living facility. A Los Angeles karaoke bar he frequented, Dimples, paid tribute online, recalling him as a fixture there.
Haskins first played Belding on the 1988 Disney Channel series “Good Morning, Miss Bliss,” then carried the role into NBC’s “Saved by the Bell,” which ran from 1989 to 1993. He reprised it for “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” which ran until 2000, and stepped back into the part one last time for a 2015 “Tonight Show” sketch alongside Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Tiffani Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley.
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on November 18, 1950, Haskins studied at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, which named him its Most Distinguished Alumni in 2000. Before his breakout, he guest-starred on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Magnum, P.I.” and “The Twilight Zone.” He also recorded a karaoke album in 2009 and performed on USO tours for troops in the Balkans and Central Asia.
Fans knew him as much from the convention circuit as from television. Until his health declined, he appeared at events across the country.
