BURBANK—On September 27, actor-musician, Dennis Buttons Haskins IV best known for his role as the principal, Mr. Richard Belding, in the 1990s sitcom, Saved bv the Bell, passed away. He was 75.
Haskins, who was born and raised in Tennessee, got his start in his acting career decades before his role as the Bayside High School principal, using his catch phrase “Hey, hey, what is going on here?”
He played in scenes in the late 1970s on Archie Bunker’s Place and on the Dukes of Hazzard. In a 1982 episode of CHIPS, Haskins played a factory plant worker.
It was during that era that if he wasn’t a stand in one of the sitcoms or television dramas, he was starring in them. He was in episodes of Knots Landing, Magnum P.I., the Twilight Zone, and Good Morning Miss, Bliss, that eventually evolved into Saved by the Bell.
In 1999 he worked on some game shows; Family Style and Figure it Out. In 2001, Haskins starred in West Wing and as Mr. Kohl’s on Max Keeble’s Big Move. In 2003, Haskins made guest appearances on 7th Heaven and some legal shows such as JAG. He played Coach Murray on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
He also played in some independent movies; Ratko, The Dictator’s Son, Victorious, Ocean of Pearls, Men of a Certain Age, Mad Men, A Million Ways to Die in the West, New Girl, Hot in Cleveland, Clemency, and he played the jolly old elf himself, Santa Claus, on many sets.
Haskin was also a noted musician. He released, and album, Karaoke with Your Favorite Principal, Dennis, and he sung a duet, Mustang Sally, with the WWE Wrestler, Hulk Hogan’s daughter, Brooke Hogan.
Reports indicate that it was Dennis Haskins’ love for his fans that led him to keep his recent health struggles quiet. The truth is that everyone’s favorite principal was suffering with Parkinson’s disease for the last eight years. He eventually succumbed to the disease. He died at an assisted living in Burbank, California.
Haskins leaves behind one son, Dustin Haskins, whom he loved along with the many friends and fans he gained over the years.
