Earlier today, news broke that Saved By the Bell franchise star Dustin Diamond, who played Screech Powers in the original series and spinoffs, passed away at age 44 following a January cancer diagnosis. This afternoon, longtime co-star and onscreen straight man Mark-Paul Gosselaar shared some brief thoughts about Diamond, whom he called a “comedic genius.” Gosselaar recently reaturned to Bayside High in Peacock’s Saved By the Bell reboot, which did not bring back Diamond. Members of the long-running sitcom’s cast have been weighing in on Diamond’s health struggles, and now his death, to wish the actor and his friends and family well.
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In the series, Screech (Diamond) was the geeky, hyperactive sidekick/best friend to Zack Morris (Gosselaar), who was the coolest guy in their high school.
“Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dustin Diamond, a true comedic genius,” Gosselaar said on Twitter. “My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Looking back at our time working together, I will miss those raw, brilliant sparks that only he was able to produce. A pie in your face, my comrade.”
Not long before Diamond’s health struggles became public knowledge, Saved By the Bell co-star Elizabeth Berkeley Lauren said it was possible they might bring Screech in for the rebooted sitcom’s upcoming second season on Peacock. He started with the series when it was still Good Morning, Miss Bliss in 1988, and stayed in the Screech role for nearly thirteen years until Saved by the Bell: The New Class ended in 2000, and expressed a desire to come back for the revival, but it wasn’t to be.
Officially, his character was cited as being on the International Space Station during the first season of the reboot, which brought most of the original cast. While Diamond wrote a tell-all about making Saved by the Bell, titled, Behind the Bell, which was released in 2009, and much of which has been disputed by other cast members, it was reportedly a less sensational story — the inability to come to terms on money — that kept him out of the reboot’s first season.
We send condolences to Diamond’s friends, family, fans, and collaborators during this difficult time.
