Dennis Haskins, the Chattanooga-born actor who became America’s favorite TV principal as Mr. Belding on “Saved by the Bell,” has died at 75.
Page Six reported the death after a longtime friend and caretaker confirmed it to Chattanooga’s WTVC. No official cause was disclosed.
Haskins spent more than a decade as Principal Richard Belding, the straight-arrow adult trying to keep Zack Morris and the Bayside High crew in line. For a generation of viewers, he was the calm authority figure in a show built on teenage schemes.
His agent, Jay Schachter, called the loss personal as well as public.
Schachter told The Hollywood Reporter:
"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 added that Haskins always made time for those fans, no matter what, and that their client friendship stretched more than 20 years. “I will miss him terribly. I’m heartbroken.”
Haskins grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. On campus he helped found the Harlequins theater group, wrote and staged original plays, and wrote for the student paper.
As student government entertainment chairman in 1973, he booked Ike and Tina Turner for a campus concert. He also organized a charity basketball game. The résumé already pointed to a man who liked putting people in a room and giving them a show.
Before Hollywood stuck, he worked as a music manager, agent, and concert promoter. Clients included Tom Jones and Gregg Allman.
His network television debut came in 1979 on the pilot of “The Dukes of Hazzard,” playing a Boar’s Nest bar patron. A decade later came the break that defined him: “Good Morning, Miss Bliss,” which became “Saved by the Bell.”
He played Principal Belding on “Saved by the Bell” from 1989 to 1993, then continued the role on “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” from 1993 to 2000. IMDb lists more than 100 acting credits across his career, including guest spots on “The West Wing,” “Mad Men,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and “7th Heaven.”
In 2009 he leaned into the character fans loved and released an album titled “Karaoke with Your Favorite Principal Dennis.”
Dimples Karaoke, a Burbank, Calif., bar where many patrons called the place his “second home,” said Haskins had been a staple there. In an Instagram post on Monday, the bar wrote that he spent the last eight years battling Parkinson’s and other health concerns, and that he kept the fight quiet on purpose.
The post said he did not want the attention and did not want to have to explain it to people. He would ask, “What do I even say?” The bar said it respected those wishes, stayed quiet, and helped him “through his journey into the next chapter of his life.”
Dimples Karaoke closed the tribute simply:
"What a cool and amazing life he had. Rest in peace, Dennis. You were very much loved and will never be forgotten."
Haskins is survived by his son, Dustin. His “Saved by the Bell” co-star Dustin Diamond, who played Screech, died of lung cancer in 2021 at age 44.
The man millions met as a sitcom principal spent his real life booking bands, building community theater, showing up for fans, and carrying hard news without a press tour. That kind of steady character still deserves the last word.
