Dennis Haskins, the actor known for playing Principal Richard Belding on “Saved by the Bell,” died Sept. 27, 2026, at 75.
He died in Burbank, Calif., at an assisted living facility where he had been living and receiving specialized medical care, according to Kimberly Snow, his friend, caretaker and former manager at Burbank’s Dimples Karaoke bar.
Haskins had privately battled Parkinson’s disease for eight years, Snow said. He kept the diagnosis largely private because he did not want attention or to have to explain his illness, she said.
He died from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
Agent Confirms the Death
Jay Schachter, his agent, 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.
Haskins had been a client and dear friend of Schachter’s for more than 20 years, the agent told PEOPLE. Schachter said he was heartbroken and would miss him terribly. He emphasized the crowds and the fans rather than the credits, and said Haskins always made time for fans, no matter the circumstances.
“He was a great person, and he loved, I mean absolutely LOVED his fans,” Schachter said.
More Than a Decade at Bayside
Haskins spent more than a decade as Belding, the “flustered but soft-hearted administrator of Bayside High.” He first played the character 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. Mark-Paul Gosselaar played star athlete Zack Morris, and the series tracked him and his circle of friends through the fictional Bayside High School in California. Dustin Diamond, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley and Lark Voorhies filled out the cast. Belding was the constant — the adult forever one step behind Zack’s schemes, and forever unable to stay angry about them.
He reprised the role in “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” which aired from 1993 to 2000. Thiessen, Lopez, Gosselaar and Berkley joined him for a sketch on “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in 2015, when he took up the part one more time — 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.”
Tributes and Survivors
Haskins was born Dennis Button Haskins IV on November 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 remained a karaoke regular at Dimples Karaoke, which many considered his “second home.” After his death was reported, Dimples Karaoke Bar in Burbank, Calif., paid tribute to Haskins.
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,” she wrote.
Haskins is survived by his son, Dustin, 16.