In Memory of Dennis Haskins — America’s Favorite Principal

In Memory of Dennis Haskins — America’s Favorite Principal

Dennis Button Haskins IV, known to millions as Principal Richard Belding of Bayside High, died on September 27, 2026, in Burbank, California. He was 75. His passing leaves a quiet space in the hearts of everyone who grew up with Saved by the Bell — and a grateful smile for the man who made the principal’s office feel like home.

Born November 18, 1950, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Dennis was a hometown kid through and through. He attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Notre Dame High School, Catholic schools that shaped his early years, then went on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. There he wrote for the student paper, acted in campus productions, helped found the community theater group the Harlequins, played basketball, and served in student government. He left school short of a degree to chase work in entertainment, first as a music manager, agent, and concert promoter — working with artists including Tom Jones and Gregg Allman — before turning to acting. In 2015, at age 65, he returned and completed his theater degree at UTC, a circle closed with typical grace. He is survived by his son, Dustin.

His Catholic schooling is the clearest public window into his religious formation. He did not make faith a talking point of his fame, but those early years in Chattanooga’s Catholic classrooms left a mark of courtesy, steadiness, and care for other people — qualities that later defined both the man and the character he played.

Dennis’s acting career stretched across four decades. He guest-starred on The Dukes of Hazzard, Magnum, P.I., The Twilight Zone, Mad Men, New Girl, Hot in Cleveland, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Victorious, and others, and appeared in films including A Million Ways to Die in the West. But one role made him immortal. After seven auditions, he became Principal Richard Belding on Disney’s Good Morning, Miss Bliss in 1988. When the show was retooled as NBC’s Saved by the Bell (1989–1993), he was the only adult regular who stayed. He kept the office keys through Saved by the Bell: The New Class until 2000, TV movies, and later cameos. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey — what’s going on here?” became a national catchphrase. He was stern when he had to be, kind when it counted, and always a little outmatched by Zack Morris. That was the joke. That was also the love.

Mr. Belding was lovable because Dennis made him human. He was the grown-up who never quite caught the kids, and never stopped trying. For a generation of Saturday-morning viewers, he was the principal you actually wanted: exasperated, decent, and on your side even when you were in detention. Off camera he treated fans the same way. His longtime agent said he “absolutely LOVED his fans” and always had time for them. In later years he quietly lived with Parkinson’s disease; those closest to him said he asked for privacy and still received the messages people sent.

Thank you, Dennis, for the locker-lined hallways, the Max’s diner afternoons, the schemes that never quite worked, and the principal who somehow always did. Thank you for childhood memories that still feel like home.

A prayer:

Lord, receive Your servant Dennis into rest. Bless the boy from Chattanooga, the actor who brought joy into living rooms, the father, and the friend who never turned away a fan. Comfort those who loved him. Let the laughter he gave us remain a kind of grace. Amen.

May he rest in peace. Hey, hey, hey — we’ll miss you.