Dennis Haskins, Beloved ‘Saved by the Bell’ Principal Belding, Dies at 75

(Yahoo) –

Dennis Haskins, the actor who became one of teen television’s most familiar authority figures as Principal Richard Belding on Saved by the Bell, has died. He was 75, and his longtime agent, Jay Schachter, confirmed the death to ABC News.

Schachter, who represented Haskins for more than 20 years, remembered an actor whose affection for the audience extended far beyond his best-known character. He called the death a “tragic loss” and said Haskins “absolutely LOVED his fans,” adding that he consistently made time for the people who approached him.

An official cause of death has not been released. Chattanooga station WTVC reported, citing Haskins’ friend and caretaker, that he had Parkinson’s disease, while a tribute from his longtime friends at Dimples Karaoke said he had kept his health struggles largely private for roughly eight years. Neither account established Parkinson’s as his cause of death.

For viewers who grew up with Bayside High, Haskins was inseparable from the exasperated but good-natured principal trying to contain Zack Morris and his classmates. He first played Belding before Saved by the Bell existed under that title and continued returning to the role for more than a decade across the expanding franchise.