Dennis Haskins, the actor known for playing Principal Richard Belding on “Saved by the Bell,” has died at 75. His death was confirmed Monday, Sept. 28, 2026.
Jay Schachter, his agent, gave The Hollywood Reporter a statement confirming the death, which Schachter called a tragic loss. A cause of death has not been made public, and details of Haskins’ death have not been released.
A friend and caretaker of Haskins also confirmed the death to WTVC, a station in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tenn., a second confirmation beyond the one given by his agent.
Agent Remembers a Friend
“Everyone loved Mr. Belding, and those of us who got to know Dennis loved him even more,” Schachter said in the statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Schachter said, “He was a great person, and he loved, I mean absolutely LOVED his fans.” No matter the circumstances, the agent added, Haskins always made time for them.
For more than 20 years, Haskins had been a client and dear friend, Schachter told PEOPLE, saying he was heartbroken and would miss him terribly.
Dimples Karaoke Bar in Burbank, Calif., where Haskins had become a regular, paid tribute to him after his death was reported. Off camera, the man who portrayed television’s definitive school-hallway mainstay had built a mainstay role of his own. He also remained a fixture on the convention circuit, appearing at events throughout the country.
Bayside High and Beyond
Haskins 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 four seasons until 1993. Mark-Paul Gosselaar played star athlete Zack Morris, whom the series followed with his circle of friends through the fictional Bayside High School in California. Dustin Diamond, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley and Lark Voorhies rounded out the cast.
Belding, the administrator of Bayside High, supplied the constancy: an adult who trailed Zack’s schemes by one step and could never hold on to his anger about them. Haskins played the role more than a decade.
He reprised the part in “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” which aired from 1993 to 2000. He also played Belding in “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” and in two “Saved by the Bell” television movies, carrying the role from the late 1980s into 2000.
A sketch on “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” brought Haskins back to the part one final time in 2015, alongside Thiessen, Lopez, Gosselaar and Berkley.
His other television credits included “Mad Men,” “New Girl,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Victorious,” “The Twilight Zone” and “A Million Ways to Die in the West.”
From Chattanooga to Los Angeles
Haskins was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tenn. He attended Notre Dame High School and studied at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he took part in theater and helped establish the university’s Harlequins community theater group. He moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s.
