US actor Dustin Diamond, greatest recognized for taking part in the nerdy Screech on the hit TV collection Saved By The Bell, died Monday, his agent stated, simply weeks after being recognized with an aggressive most cancers. He was 44.
“He was recognized with this brutal, relentless type of malignant most cancers solely three weeks in the past. In that point, it managed to unfold quickly all through his system,” the agent, Roger Paul, informed information company AFP. “Dustin didn’t undergo. He didn’t should lie submerged in ache. For that, we’re grateful.”
Diamond, a California native, launched his profession with Good Morning, Miss Bliss, a collection about junior excessive college students that solely lasted one season, however which spawned Saved By The Bell.
Dustin Diamond’s Screech character, together with a number of others, have been transported to the fictional Bayside Excessive College in California for Bell, which aired for 4 seasons beginning in 1989. The sunshine-hearted present tackling the highs and lows of adolescence was well-liked each in the US and overseas.
Diamond’s offbeat Samuel “Screech” Powers was the right foil for Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s Zack Morris. Although he was a serious cause for the present’s success, Diamond’s profession didn’t take off afterwards.
– ‘You may be missed’ –
Apart from some Saved By The Bell spinoffs and made-for-television motion pictures, he labored occasionally in small roles.
In 2009, his tell-all guide “Behind The Bell” contained some juicy behind-the-scenes tales of the set — however Diamond later admitted it was stuffed with fabricated anecdotes.
In 2015, he was sentenced to 4 months in jail for carrying a hid weapon and disorderly conduct in reference to a stabbing at a bar.
He was launched from jail a month early in 2016 for good conduct.
Lately, Diamond has labored as a humorist and appeared on a number of actuality TV reveals.
“We’re conscious that Dustin just isn’t thought-about respected by most. He is had a historical past of mishaps, of unlucky occasions,” his agent stated Monday.
“We wish the general public to grasp that he was not deliberately malevolent. (…) His actions, although rebukable, stemmed from loss and the lack of understanding on tips on how to course of that ache correctly.”
Final yr, when the remainder of the Saved By The Bell solid reunited for one more reboot, Diamond didn’t seem.
His former co-stars paid tribute to him on Monday.
“Deeply saddened to listen to of the passing of Dustin Diamond, a real comedic genius,” Gosselaar wrote on Twitter.
“Trying again at our time working collectively, I’ll miss these uncooked, good sparks that solely he was capable of produce. A pie in your face, my comrade.”
Mario Lopez, who performed AC Slater on Bell, added: “Dustin, you can be missed my man. The fragility of this life is one thing by no means to be taken without any consideration.”
