Dennis Haskins, the actor who played Principal Richard Belding on "Saved by the Bell" for over a decade, died Sunday at 75 — taking with him one of the last unapologetically decent authority figures in American television.
Haskins' agent Jay Schachter confirmed the death Monday. No cause was disclosed, though a Burbank karaoke bar where Haskins was a regular posted that he had fallen ill about eight years ago and "did not want the attention."
For millions of Americans who came of age in the '90s, Mr. Belding was the principal you actually liked — firm but fair, always nearby with his catchphrase "Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?" when Zack Morris pushed too far. He wasn't the punchline. He wasn't incompetent. He wasn't the villain of the story. He was the adult in the room, and the show treated that as a good thing.
Try finding that on a streaming platform today.
Haskins was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and started his career as a music manager for acts like Tom Jones and Gregg Allman before landing his first onscreen role in a 1979 episode of "The Dukes of Hazzard," according to NBC News. The Belding role began on Disney Channel's "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" in 1988, then moved to NBC as "Saved by the Bell" from 1989 to 1993. He kept playing the character on "The New Class" through 2000 — eleven straight years as the same principal.
The Hollywood Reporter noted that Haskins also did two USO tours — in 2000 through Kosovo, Macedonia and Bosnia, and in 2002 through Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman and Kyrgyzstan. He also flew with the Blue Angels. That's more than most of today's Hollywood elite have ever done for the country that made them rich.
Schachter said in a statement: "He was a great person, and he loved, I mean absolutely LOVED his fans. He always had time for them, no matter what."
Lark Voorhies, who played Lisa Turtle, wrote on Instagram: "Knowing Dennis Haskins for almost 40 years has been one of the truest blessings of my life. ... Through it all, he remained a fabulous person, a loyal friend, and someone with such a kind, gentle heart."
The Dimples Karaoke bar in Burbank — his self-described "second home" — posted that patrons thought he owned the place. He just loved being around regular people.
Haskins finished his bachelor's degree in theater from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2015, The Guardian reported. He is survived by his son, Dustin.
Hollywood will eulogize Haskins and then go back to producing programming that treats fathers as fools, principals as tyrants, and traditional values as punchlines. The gap between what Haskins' character represented and what his industry now pushes is the whole story of America's culture war — and ordinary people know which side they're on.
