On the evening of September 28th, 2026 news broke of the passing of Dennis Haskins, famous for his role of Mr. Richard Belding, the Principal of Bayside High School on Saved by the Bell and its’ sequel Saved by the Bell: The New Class.

He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on November 18th, 1950 and attended Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Mr. Haskins started in television appearing in four different roles on The Dukes of Hazzard.

After auditioning multiple times for the role which he would become famous for, Mr. Haskins landed the role of Mr. Richard Belding, the Principal on Good Morning, Miss Bliss – the prequel to Saved by the Bell.

After the cancellation of Good Morning, Miss Bliss, he would join Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zach Morris), Lark Voorhies (Lisa Turtle), and Dustin Diamond (‘Screech’ Powers) in Saved by the Bell.

Following the graduation of the original students in Saved by the Bell, Mr. Haskins would continue on as Mr. Belding in Saved by the Bell: The New Class for seven seasons. He would appear in one episode of Saved by the Bell: The College Years as well as two made-for-television films Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style and Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas as Mr. Belding.

Aside from the role that made him famous, Mr. Haskins made many other appearances in shows such as JAG, Victorious, Mad Men, and How I Met Your Mother.

Mr. Haskins would receive the ‘Most Distinguished Alumni of 2000 award’ from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a regional decathlon is named after him: The Dennis Haskins Open.

Mr. Haskins passed away at the age of 75 on September 27, 2026 in Burbank, California after suffering from Parkinson’s disease for eight years.