Saved By The Bell star Mario Lopez remembers 'biggest kid' Dennis Haskins in heartfelt tribute
Saved By The Bell stars Mario Lopez and Leanna Creel have paid tribute to Dennis Haskins after his death.
Mario Lopez has remembered Dennis Haskins as "the biggest kid" on the set of Saved By The Bell.
The 52-year-old actor, who played AC Slater on the classic '90s sitcom, has paid a heartfelt tribute to his late co-star, who died on September 27, aged 76.
He wrote on Instagram: "Heartbroken to hear about my old friend Dennis Haskins.
"He played the principal, but Dennis was the biggest kid on the SBTB set. If you knew him, you loved him — and if there was karaoke, you knew Dennis was getting on that mic!
"I’m grateful for the laughs, the memories, and the friendship we shared all these years. Rest easy, my friend. You’ll always be part of our Bayside family.”
Leanna Creel, who joined Saved By The Bell as Tori Scott for its fifth and final season in 1992, has revealed the final time she saw Haskins before his death.
She wrote on Instagram: "Dennis!! You were always ready with a warm hug and smile!
"I joined Bayside Season 5, with realistic storylines like 'Tori' delivering Mr. Belding’s baby … in an elevator …during an earthquake!
"A few years ago, I got to bring my boys to a SBTB pop up where they had fun playing with the props. It was the last time I saw Dennis.
"Being kind, in the end, is the only thing that matters. May his memory be a blessing. #GoBayside"
Creel, whose character Tori dated Mark-Paul Gosselaar's alter ego Zack Morris, joined after NBC wanted more episodes than originally planned, with Tiffani Thiessen (who played Kelly Kapowski) and Elizabeth Burkley (Jessie Spano) gone from the show.
Dennis’ passing was confirmed by his agent Jay Schacher, who said in a statement: “Everyone loved Mr. Belding and those of us who got to know Dennis, loved him even more.
“He was a great person, and he loved, I mean absolutely LOVED his fans. He always had time for them, no matter what.
“He was my client and dear friend for over 20 years, and I will miss him terribly. I’m heartbroken.”
A cause of death wasn’t made public, but Haskins suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, the Dimples Karaoke Bar in Burbank, California, revealed in their tribute on Instagram, as they said he kept quiet about the diagnosis around eight years ago because he “did not want the attention”.
They added: “He did not want to have to tell people. He would say, ‘What do I even say?’ So I respected his wishes and stayed quiet, and I helped him through his journey into the next chapter of his life.”
The karaoke bar added that Haskins had been such a “staple” at the establishment that multiple people mistakenly assumed he owned it.
Haskins made his screen debut on The Dukes of Hazzard back in 1976, but it was his role in Saved by the Bell that he became famous for - along with his character’s catchphrase “Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?”.
His final outing as Principal Belding came in 2015, when he joined Saved by the Bell co-stars Tiffany, Mario, Mark-Paul and Elizabeth in a sketch on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
