Actor known as Screech on ‘Saved By the Bell’
Dustin Diamond, the actor known for playing the character Screech on NBC’s hit series “Saved By the Bell,” died Monday after being diagnosed with cancer last month. He was 44.
His longtime talent agent, Roger Paul, confirmed the news in a statement: “We are saddened to confirm of Dustin Diamond’s passing on Monday .... He was diagnosed with this brutal, relentless form of malignant cancer only three weeks ago.
“In that time, it managed to spread rapidly throughout his system; the only mercy it exhibited was its sharp and swift execution. Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful.”
Diamond was familiar to a generation of fans as Samuel “Screech” Powers, the wacky pal of Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) on “Saved by the Bell.” In the popular high school comedy that ran on NBC from 1989 through 1993, Diamond played the geek, the weirdo, the one who clearly did not fit in with the cool kids of Bayside High, yet they accepted him.
He appeared for 13 years on the franchise, which included the original series, “Good Morning, Miss Bliss,” followed by “Saved By the Bell: The College Years” and spinoff “Saved by the Bell: The New Class.”
Diamond struggled to adjust after years of teenage fame. He was barely a preteen when he was cast on “Good Morning, Miss Bliss.” and when the show was revamped as “Saved by the Bell,” he was younger than most of the other cast members.
“The hardest thing about being a child star is giving up your childhood,” Diamond said in a 2013 interview with HuffPost. “You don’t get a childhood, really. You’re a professional and you got to know your lines and rehearse and practice.”