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    "parsed_content": "AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTDennis Haskins, Mr. Belding on \u2018Saved by the Bell,\u2019 Dies at 75He played the exasperated but well-meaning principal on the popular high school sitcom. He reprised the role in a long-running spinoff.Listen \u00b7 5:19 min Share full articleVideoDennis Haskins, Principal Belding in \u2018Saved by the Bell,\u2019 Dies at 75Dennis Haskins, the actor best known for playing Principal Richard Belding in \u201cSaved by the Bell,\u201d died on Sunday. He was 75.CreditCredit...NBCU, via Getty ImagesBy Francesca RegaladoSept. 29, 2026Updated 9:23 a.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Dennis Haskins, who played Principal Richard Belding on the teen sitcom \u201cSaved by the Bell,\u201d his most memorable role in an acting career that spanned four decades, died on Sunday in Burbank, Calif. He was 75.His friend and caretaker, Kimberly Snow, confirmed the death. Mr. Haskins had been in an assisted living facility since he was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease eight years ago, she said.Mr. Haskins played the exasperated but well-meaning principal of Bayside High School throughout the show\u2019s four-season run, from 1989 to 1992. The show followed a group of California high school students.Mr. Belding served as a foil and a mentor to the show\u2019s lead character, Zack Morris, and his friends Screech, Slater, Lisa, Jessie and Kelly. Dustin Diamond, who played Screech, died in 2021.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTMr. Haskins first played the character in \u201cGood Morning, Miss Bliss,\u201d which aired for one season on the Disney Channel in 1988-89 before it was canceled and retooled by NBC as \u201cSaved by the Bell.\u201d As Mr. Belding, he often announced his entrance into a scene with the catchphrase: \u201cHey, hey hey, what is going on here?\u201dHe played Mr. Belding in two television movies, \u201cSaved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style\u201d in 1992 and \u201cSaved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas\u201d in 1994, and appeared in \u201cSaved by the Bell: The College Years,\u201d which ran for one season from 1993 to 1994.Mr. Haskins and Mr. Diamond reprised their roles in a spinoff, \u201cSaved by the Bell: The New Class,\u201d which ran from 1993 to 2000.After hanging up his tie as Mr. Belding, Mr. Haskins made guest appearances on several TV shows in the 2000s and 2010s, including \u201cIt\u2019s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,\u201d \u201cMad Men\u201d and \u201cHow I Met Your Mother.\u201d He also appeared in a handful of television movies, including his final role as the grandfather of 14 adopted children in the 2020 Christmas film \u201cA Bennett Song Holiday.\u201dDennis Button Haskins IV was born on Nov. 18, 1950, in Chattanooga, Tenn., to Dennis Button Haskins III and Veneta Marilyn Yarbrough. He had one brother. He attended high school in Chattanooga and went on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTMr. Haskins wrote for the university\u2019s student paper, acted in the drama club and served in student government, according to the university. He was a founding member of the Harlequins, a community theater group in Chattanooga, where he performed in plays and worked as a stage manager.He left the university in the 1970s, before graduating, to pursue a career in entertainment in California. He worked in the music business before receiving his first acting credit on \u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard\u201d in 1979. He played minor roles in several TV shows, including \u201cArchie Bunker\u2019s Place\u201d and \u201cMagnum, P.I.,\u201d before he was cast as Mr. Belding.In 2015, he returned to the university to complete his degree in theater and speech. \u201cI always felt bad that I didn\u2019t stick it out,\u201d he said in a 2017 video posted by the university, adding that he had been just short of graduating when he dropped out. \u201cIt was something that was missing from me.\u201dHe credited the university with helping to launch his acting career and donated his scripts from \u201cSaved by the Bell\u201d to its library. In the finale of \u201cSaved by the Bell: The New Class,\u201d Mr. Belding leaves Bayside High to become a dean at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.Mr. Haskins\u2019s marriage to Sarah Dianne Goins ended in divorce. No information about survivors was immediately available.In his later years, Mr. Haskins was a regular at Dimples Karaoke, a bar in Burbank, where he befriended its owner, Sal Ferraro, who died in 2022. Ms. Snow, his caretaker, worked as a bartender at the bar until it closed in 2014.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\u201cA lot of people thought he owned it, but he didn\u2019t. He just loved the place and its people,\u201d Ms. Snow wrote about Mr. Haskins in a social media post on Monday. \u201cHe enjoyed singing for people, meeting them, and taking selfies with his fans.\u201dMr. Haskins wrapped filming on the original \u201cSaved by the Bell\u201d series in 1991, almost a year before the final season aired. Afterward, he was interviewed on \u201cLive at Noon,\u201d a local talk show in Chattanooga.\u201cSomebody told me the other day, they said, \u2018You are going to be Mr. Belding to a whole generation of kids,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI was just happy to have a job.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-09-29T07:30:22+00:00",
    "author_name": "Francesca Regalado",
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    "ai_headline": "Dennis Haskins, Mr. Belding on \u2018Saved by the Bell,\u2019 Dies at 75",
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    "ai_excerpt": "Dennis Haskins, best known for playing Principal Richard Belding on \u201cSaved by the Bell,\u201d died on Sunday at 75. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease eight years ago.",
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