Dustin Diamond

Dustin Diamond was an actor and stand-up comedian best known for playing Samuel “Screech” Powers on Saved by the Bell and its subsequent spinoffs. Diamond was raised in San Jose, California, and began acting at a young age. He attended Zion Lutheran School and chose to focus on his career in entertainment after graduating.

Diamond landed his breakout role as Screech at age 11 on Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was later rebranded as Saved by the Bell. He remained a central figure on the series from 1989 to 1993 and reprised the role on Saved by the Bell: The College Years and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, making him the only original cast member to appear in every iteration of the franchise. Outside of the series, he made appearances in Big Money Rustlas (2010) All Wifed Out (2012) and Bleeding Hearts (2015). He also released a controversial tell-all book in 2009 titled Behind the Bell.

Diamond married Jennifer Misner in 2009, though the couple separated in 2013.

He died on February 1, 2021, at the age of 44 following a battle with lung cancer.