A photo of Dustin Diamond. (Image courtesy: dustindiamondofficial)
The highlight
- “Dustin didn’t suffer,” the actor’s agent said
- “He didn’t have to lie overwhelmed with pain,” the agent added
- Diamond began her career with ‘Good Morning, Miss Bliss’
New York:
American actor Dustin Diamond, best known for playing the nerd Screech in the success of the TV series Saved by the bell, died Monday, his agent said, just weeks after he was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. He was 44 years old. “He was diagnosed with this brutal and relentless form of malignant cancer just three weeks ago. In that time, he managed to spread quickly throughout his system,” agent Roger Paul told AFP news agency. “Dustin didn’t suffer. He didn’t have to lie immersed in pain. That’s why we’re grateful.” Diamond, a native of California, began his career with Good morning, Miss Bliss, a series about high school students that only lasted one season, but that generated Saved by the bell.
Dustin Diamond’s Screech character, along with several others, were moved to the fictional Bayside High School in California by Stamp, which aired for four seasons beginning in 1989.
The hilarious show that addressed the highs and lows of adolescence was popular both in the United States and abroad.
The Diamond Samuel “Screech” Powers discount was the perfect foil for Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s Zack Morris.
While it was one of the main reasons for the show’s success, Diamond’s career was not unleashed afterwards.
– ‘We will miss you’ –
Apart from a few Saved by the bell spin-offs and films intended for television, he worked infrequently in small roles.
In 2009, his revealing book“Behind the bell it contained some juicy tales from behind the scenes of the set, but Diamond later admitted that it was full of fabricated anecdotes.
In 2015 he was sentenced to four months in prison for carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct in connection with a stabbing at a bar.
He was released from prison a month in early 2016 for good behavior.
In recent years, Diamond has worked as a comedian and appeared on several reality TV shows.
“We are aware that Dustin is not considered reputable by the majority. He has had a history of setbacks, of unfortunate events,” his agent said Monday.
“We want the public to understand that he was not intentionally malevolent. (…) His actions, while incredible, arose from the loss and lack of knowledge about how to properly process this pain.”
Last year, when the rest of Saved by the bell cast reunited for another reboot, Diamond did not appear.
His former co-stars paid tribute to him on Monday.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dustin Diamond, a true comic genius,” Gosselaar wrote on Twitter.
“Looking back on our time working together, I will miss those raw, bright sparks that only he could produce. A cake in his face, my companion.”
Mario Lopez, who played for AC Slater Stamp, he added, “Dustin, you will miss my husband. The fragility of this life is something that should never be taken for granted.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)