Dustin Diamond

As a child star, Dustin Diamond charmed in "Big Top Pee-wee" (1988) and on "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" (The Disney Channel, 1988-89), which became the international teen smash "Saved by the Bell" (NBC, 1989-1993). Part of the original cast, Diamond played the ultra-nerdy Samuel "Screech" Powers, who provided most of the show's physical and over-the-top comedy. Nominated for three Young Artist Awards, Diamond was a key element of every iteration of the franchise, helping anchor the spin-offs "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" (NBC, 1993-94) and "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" (NBC, 1993-2000). As an adult, Diamond gamely parodied his teen stardom in "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" (2003) before starring in his own pornographic film "Screeched" (2006), and writing a supposedly scandalous "tell-all" Behind the Bell. Although his teen stardom earned him a place in pop cultural immortality, Diamond wore the mantle uneasily at best. Born in San Jose, CA, Dustin Neil Diamond notched early success as a child actor, appearing in such kid-friendly fare as the animated "Yogi's Great Escape" (syndicated, 1987), "Big Top Pee-wee" (1988) and "Purple People Eater" (1988) before he landed his biggest role to date on "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" (The Disney Channel, 1988-89), which morphed into the teen juggernaut "Saved by the Bell" (NBC, 1989-1993). Part of the original cast that also included Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies), Diamond played the sweet but socially awkward Samuel "Screech" Powers, who served as the group's resident nerd, complete with bizarre clothing, over-the-top reactions and trademark pre-puberty squeaky voice. Set in an Indianapolis junior high school classroom presided over by the titular Miss Bliss (Hayley Mills), the series did not really catch fire until it was retooled as "Saved by the Bell," with Diamond, Voorhies, Gosselaar and principal Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) transplanted to Bayside High in sunny Southern California and new classmates Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) and A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez) added to the mix. While never a critical darling, the charming series became an international phenomenon, turning its young stars into teen idols and becoming a beloved, often-quoted pop cultural touchstone for certain generations. Nominated for three Young Artist Awards, Diamond was a key character in the world of "Bell" who also appeared in the made-for-TV movies "Saved by the Bell Hawaiian Style" (NBC, 1992), "Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas" (NBC, 1994) and earned series regular roles on "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" (NBC, 1993-94) and "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" (NBC, 1993-2000). After the last "Bell" rang in 2000, Diamond kicked off a stand-up comedy career and lined up a string of small roles that took advantage of his unique stardom and the subsequent instant visual joke ("It's Screech!") in such projects as "Big Fat Liar" (2002), "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" (2003) and the Vince Vaughn/Jon Favreau comedy "Made" (2001), which earned him an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Cameo. Diamond made headlines with a series of bizarre moments that included him creating, starring and releasing his own pornographic video "Screeched" (2006), beating Ron Palillo bloody on "Celebrity Boxing 2" (Fox, 2002), and competing on "Celebrity Fit Club" (VH1, 2005-2010). His most notorious stunt, however, was writing 2009's Behind the Bell, which he claimed revealed the show's dark secrets and scandals. So completely had Diamond estranged all of his former castmates that when People magazine did a cover story on a "Bell" reunion, not only did all the actors agree only if Diamond were excluded, but he and Dennis Haskins were also cropped out of a 1989 group photo for the piece. Diamond's star continued to dim in the following years. On Christmas Day 2014, Diamond and his girlfriend Amanda Schulz were involved in a fight in a bar in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, during which Diamond pulled a concealed switchblade on another man. Diamond was convicted in May 2014 of misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon, but acquitted of the more serious felony charge of recklessly endangering public safety. Dustin Diamond died on February 1, 2021 at the age of 44.