Dennis Haskins, the actor known for playing Principal Richard Belding on “Saved by the Bell,” died Sept. 27, 2026, in Burbank, Calif., at an assisted living facility where he had been living and receiving specialized medical care, according to his friend, caretaker and former manager at Burbank’s Dimples Karaoke bar, Kimberly Snow. He was 75.
A Diagnosis Kept Private
Snow said Haskins had privately battled Parkinson’s disease for eight years. He kept the diagnosis largely private because, according to Snow, he did not want attention or to have to explain his illness.
He is survived by his son, Dustin, 16.
Tributes From Agent and Co-Star
His agent, Jay Schachter, confirmed the death Monday, Sept. 28, in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter and called it a tragic loss. “Everyone loved Mr. Belding, and those of us who got to know Dennis loved him even more,” Schachter said in the statement.
Schachter also said: “He was a great person, and he loved, I mean absolutely LOVED his fans.”
Schachter told PEOPLE that Haskins had been his client and dear friend for more than 20 years, that he would miss him terribly and that he was heartbroken. He emphasized the crowds and the fans rather than the credits, and said Haskins always made time for fans, no matter the circumstances.
Haskins was a longtime regular at Dimples Karaoke, a now-closed bar in Burbank, Calif., that many considered his “second home,” and the bar paid tribute to him on Instagram after his death was reported.
Co-star Lark Voorhies, who played Lisa Turtle, paid tribute on Instagram. “Knowing Dennis Haskins for almost 40 years has been one of the truest blessings of my life, which makes losing him hurt so deeply,” Voorhies wrote.
From Chattanooga to Bayside High
Haskins was born Dennis Button Haskins IV on Nov. 18, 1950, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Before he acted full-time, he worked as a music manager, agent and concert promoter, and his clients included Tom Jones and Gregg Allman.
He first played Belding on “Good Morning, Miss Bliss,” a series reworked into the teen sitcom “Saved by the Bell” after a single season. The character came with him. “Saved by the Bell” debuted in 1989 and ran for four seasons until 1993. The series followed star athlete Zack Morris — played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar — and his circle of friends through the fictional Bayside High School in California. The cast also included Dustin Diamond, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley and Voorhies.
Haskins spent more than a decade as the flustered but soft-hearted administrator of Bayside High. Belding was the constant: the adult forever one step behind Zack’s schemes, and forever unable to stay angry about them.
A Role He Kept Returning To
He reprised the role in “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” which aired from 1993 to 2000. He returned to the part once more in 2015, joining Thiessen, Lopez, Gosselaar and Berkley for a sketch on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” a reunion that drew a roar from viewers who had not seen the group together in years.
His other television credits included “Mad Men,” “New Girl” and “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
