For millions of viewers who grew up watching Saved by the Bell, Dennis Haskins was forever connected to the hallways of Bayside High.
With his suit, booming voice and unforgettable “Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?” Principal Richard Belding could be frustrated by Zack Morris and his friends one moment and quietly looking out for them the next.
Now, the actor behind one of television’s most recognizable principals is gone.
Dennis Haskins died Sunday night, September 27, 2026, at the age of 75. His longtime friend and caretaker Kimberly Snow confirmed that he died at approximately 11 p.m. at an assisted-living facility in Burbank, California. Los Angeles Times
He had quietly been facing a serious illness
When the first reports of Haskins’ death emerged, his cause of death wasn’t publicly announced.
Then another deeply personal part of his story came to light.
Haskins had reportedly been living with Parkinson’s disease for approximately eight years, something he had largely kept away from the public.
His former wife, Sarah Quinones, confirmed his battle with the progressive neurological condition. Haskins had eventually moved into assisted living as his health needs increased. EW.com
For fans, the revelation helped explain why the once-familiar television personality had become increasingly absent from public life.
The actor who had spent decades happily meeting viewers and embracing his association with Mr. Belding had largely disappeared from the spotlight.
But those closest to him hadn’t forgotten him.
His final home was in Burbank
According to Kimberly Snow, Haskins spent his final period of life in an assisted-living facility in Burbank.
Snow wasn’t simply his caretaker.
The two shared a friendship stretching back years to a place that had become almost a second home for Haskins: Dimples Karaoke Bar.
Haskins loved karaoke so much that he became a fixture at the legendary Burbank establishment. Some customers reportedly assumed he actually owned the place. Los Angeles Times
That detail reveals a side of the actor very different from stern Principal Belding.
Away from Bayside High, Dennis loved music, performing and being around people.
And his connection to music went back much further than many fans realized.
Before Mr. Belding, there was an entirely different Dennis Haskins
Long before Hollywood made him a television principal, Haskins was a Tennessee kid fascinated by entertainment.
Born in Chattanooga in 1950, he attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he wrote for the student newspaper, performed in theater and helped establish a community theater group.
But acting wasn’t initially the only direction he pursued.
As a young man, Haskins worked in the music business as a manager, agent and concert promoter. His professional history included associations with performers such as Tom Jones and Gregg Allman. NBC Chicago
Eventually, acting took over.
Small television appearances followed throughout the 1980s, including roles on shows such as Magnum, P.I., The Twilight Zone, CHiPs and The Dukes of Hazzard. People.com
Then came the character that would change everything.
Mr. Belding wasn’t supposed to become an 11-year journey
Haskins first played Richard Belding on Good Morning, Miss Bliss in 1988.
The series evolved into Saved by the Bell, and Haskins remained.
Suddenly, Bayside High had its principal.
And television had Mr. Belding.
From 1989 through the early 1990s, Haskins became the exasperated adult constantly attempting to control Zack Morris, Kelly Kapowski, A.C. Slater, Jessie Spano, Lisa Turtle and Screech.
Yet Belding was never simply the villain standing between teenagers and fun.
He cared about them.
That warmth was part of what made the character endure.
Haskins eventually continued playing Belding in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, remaining connected to the franchise until 2000. TVLine
His former students are now mourning him
The teenagers Haskins once supervised on television are now adults in their 50s.
And following his death, several of them shared emotional memories of the man who had watched them grow up.
Lark Voorhies, who played Lisa Turtle, described knowing Haskins for nearly four decades as one of the great blessings of her life.
Their relationship had continued long after the cameras stopped rolling.
Only months before his death, Voorhies recalled that Haskins had given her a Luther Vandross CD and a large teddy bear when Saved by the Bell ended. She remembered him as someone who continued checking in on her years afterward.
Mario Lopez was similarly devastated.
The actor who played A.C. Slater remembered Haskins not as a stern authority figure but as a joyful personality who loved karaoke and brought enormous energy to those around him. EW.com
Tiffani Thiessen and Mark-Paul Gosselaar also joined former cast members in remembering their longtime costar. Page Six
One costar remembered the last time she saw him
Actress Leanna Creel, who played Tori Scott during the show’s final season, offered another poignant memory after his death.
She recalled working alongside Haskins during the memorable Saved by the Bell “Earthquake” episode and remembered his kindness on set.
Years later, their paths crossed again.
Their final meeting took place at a Saved by the Bell pop-up event — an occasion built entirely around nostalgia for the television series that had connected them decades earlier. EW.com
Neither could have known it would become one of Creel’s last memories of him.
Dennis never seemed embarrassed by the character that made him famous
For some actors, being permanently associated with one role can become frustrating.
Haskins appeared to approach it differently.
He understood what Mr. Belding meant to people.
His agent, Jay Schachter, emphasized that connection when confirming Haskins’ death, describing him as someone who genuinely adored his fans and always made time for them.
Schachter had represented Haskins for more than 20 years and described losing him as both a professional and deeply personal loss. CBS News
That affection helps explain why Haskins continued returning to the Saved by the Bell universe.
There were television movies.
There were spinoffs.
There were reunions.
There were conventions and nostalgic appearances.
And whenever someone wanted Mr. Belding, Dennis seemed happy to give them a little piece of Bayside High again.
His career didn’t end when Bayside closed
Although Belding dominated his public identity, Haskins continued acting.
His later credits included appearances in Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother, Hot in Cleveland, New Girl and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, along with film work. People.com
Still, nothing could compete with the role he’d played for so many years.
For an entire generation, seeing Dennis Haskins immediately brought back fluorescent school hallways, lockers, Zack’s enormous cell phone and Saturday mornings in front of the television.
And Haskins seemed perfectly comfortable with that.
His disappearance from public life now carries a different meaning
Looking back at RARE PHOTOS of Dennis Haskins through the years, there is a noticeable point when public appearances become harder to find.
One of his later widely photographed appearances came in 2018, when he attended the opening of the Saved by the Max pop-up experience in West Hollywood.
He was smiling.
He posed for photographs.
And once again, he was surrounded by the fictional world that had made him famous.
Reports following his death indicate that his Parkinson’s battle had begun around that same general period. EW.com
The illness remained largely private.
Fans therefore didn’t know the full story behind his increasing absence.
He returned to something he had left unfinished decades earlier
There was another chapter in Haskins’ later life that received far less attention than his acting career.
Education.
Decades after leaving the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to pursue entertainment, Haskins returned to complete his studies.
In 2016, he finally earned his bachelor’s degree in theater and speech.
There is something wonderfully fitting about it.
The man famous for playing America’s most recognizable high-school principal went back to school himself.
He finished what he’d started.
The cause of his death has not been publicly established
Although Haskins’ eight-year Parkinson’s battle has now been confirmed by people close to him, reports have not established Parkinson’s disease as his official cause of death.
His agent did not disclose a cause when announcing his passing, and major reports published immediately afterward similarly stated that the cause remained unavailable. CBS News
That distinction is important.
What is known is where his life ended.
According to Snow, Haskins died at the Burbank assisted-living facility where he had been residing.
And those who knew him have focused less on the medical details than on the person they lost.
For his friends, he wasn’t Mr. Belding
To television audiences, Dennis Haskins will probably always be the principal bursting into a room demanding to know what Zack Morris had done this time.
But the tributes following his death paint another picture.
A man who remembered people.
A friend who stayed in touch.
Someone who loved singing karaoke.
An actor who genuinely enjoyed meeting the people who had watched him on television.
And a performer who never seemed to resent being remembered for the role that changed his life.
Lark Voorhies remembered his gentle heart.
Mario Lopez remembered the fun.
His agent remembered his extraordinary affection for fans.
And Leanna Creel remembered the last time they were together. EW.com
Those memories now sit beside decades of RARE PHOTOS documenting Haskins from his early acting years through Saved by the Bell, reunions and his final public appearances.
Dennis Haskins spent much of his career pretending to look after generations of students at Bayside High.
More than 30 years later, those “students” — and millions of people who grew up alongside them — are now saying goodbye to Mr. Belding.
For more heartwarming stories, read about Heidi Klum’s body positivity at 53 and Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber’s daughter Kai’s rise in fashion, or learn about Christopher Reeve’s son Will’s recent cancer diagnosis.
