Dennis Haskins, Saved by the Bell's Mr Belding, dies aged 75
Dennis Haskins, the actor best known for portraying Principal Richard Belding on Saved by the Bell, has died aged 75.
His longtime agent Jay Schachter confirmed the death to Variety, which reported the news on 29 September 2026. Variety Schachter, described as Haskins' agent and friend for more than 20 years, also confirmed the death to Deadline in a separate report published the same day. Deadline
No cause of death had been released at the time of Variety's report. Schachter's confirmation covered the fact of the death itself. No additional medical or family detail was included in the initial trade reports.
Haskins first played Belding on Good Morning, Miss Bliss in 1989. The series aired on the Disney Channel, with Haskins appearing opposite Hayley Mills. After one season, the programme was retooled as Saved by the Bell on NBC, meaning it was reworked under a new title and network home while Haskins remained as the principal.
Saved by the Bell ran from 1989 to 1992. Haskins appeared in nearly 90 episodes as Principal Belding, the school head at the centre of the student ensemble. He played the role throughout the show's four-season run on NBC. He stayed.
The character did not end with the original series. Haskins returned as Belding for Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which began in 1993 and continued for seven seasons until its finale in 2000. He also played the same role in the television film Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style, as well as in Good Morning, Miss Bliss.
For viewers, this means one actor held the same role across three television titles and one film. The timeline runs from Miss Bliss in 1989, through the original Saved by the Bell, and on to The New Class in 2000. It is that continuity, more than a decade in the same chair, that kept Belding familiar to audiences who arrived at different points in the franchise.
Variety was the original source for the death report, with Deadline carrying its own confirmation from the same representative. Further detail, if released by family or representatives, would update that initial record. For now, the confirmed public account is brief. A long-running principal is gone.
