Dustin Diamond, of ‘Saved by the Bell’ fame, dies in Cape Coral
Dustin Diamond, who was known to millions of youngsters in the 1990s for playing the character Screech on the children’s sitcom “Saved by the Bell,” died in Cape Coral on Feb. 1 at the age of 44.
The cause was stage 4 small-cell lung carcinoma, according to his longtime agent Roger Paul. Paul took over as Diamond’s agent following the end of his run on “Saved by the Bell” 22 years ago.
Diamond had been living in Cape Coral for more than two years, having moved from Wisconsin.
“He was a very loveable guy,” Paul said. “He touched a lot people’s lives.”
On the show, Diamond provided the comic relief, playing the good-natured and unassuming character. To an earlier generation, he was reminiscent of Huntz Hall from The Dead End Kids without the tough-guy swagger.
“A lot of people identified with him,” Paul said. “He embraced his character towards the end.”
Paul said Diamond “loved his fans.”
Paul said it was difficult for Diamond to get acting roles after “Saved by the Bell” because he was typecast.
“It was very hard to break that stereotype when auditioning for roles,” Paul said.
After the original “Saved by the Bell” series, Diamond played in “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” and a six-year run on “Saved by the Bell: The New Class.”
He found minor roles in films such as “Big Fat Liar,” “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star” and “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love.” He worked on reality television and television movies.
Diamond didn’t get a chance to act on the latest reboot of “Saved by the Bell,” which debuted this past fall. According to published reports Diamond had expected he would get a chance
Paul said a lot of people didn’t get to know the other sides of Diamond from what they saw on television. “There are many sides to a diamond,” he said.
A California native, Diamond enjoyed playing the bass guitar and played in a rock band before moving to Florida from Wisconsin.
“He was very talented,” Paul said. “He loved Tool. He loved the Foo Fighters.”
Halloween was a favorite holiday of his. He enjoyed giving out candy to children, Paul said.
“He liked to sign autographs,” Paul said.
Diamond had been working on different projects at the time of his passing, Paul said. He had worked on commercials with Dan Block.
His girlfriend Tash, of Cape Coral, “is amazing,” Paul said. “She was an angel to Dustin.”
He was known in the Cape Coral and Fort Myers nightclub scene for his stand-up comedy routine.
“He gave us laughter, he gave us hope, he gave us a lot,” Paul said.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who was the lead actor on “Saved by the Bell,” paid tribute to Diamond on Twitter by stating “Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dustin Diamond, a true comedic genius. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Looking back at our time working together, I will miss those raw, brilliant sparks that only he was able to produce. A pie in your face, my comrade.”
Diamond was survived by his father Mark Diamond of California, according to an obituary.
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