Dustin Diamond Of ‘Saved By The Bell’ Fame Dies At 44 After Lung Cancer Diagnosis
(The AEGIS Alliance) – Actor Dustin Diamond, who grew to become a teen TV icon who played Screech on the “Saved by the Bell,” show, passed away on Monday from lung cancer.
Diamond’s camp announced the diagnosis just three weeks ago.
Diamond’s longtime representative Roger Paul referred to the illness as “a brutal, relentless form of malignant cancer” by way of a press release.
“In that time, it managed to spread rapidly throughout his system; the only mercy it exhibited was its sharp and swift execution,” Roger Paul said. “Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful.”
NBC News reported the particular cancer was stage 4 lung cancer.
Diamond rose to fame in 1989 while playing the nerdy lovable Screech when the “Saved by the Bell” sitcom aired on Saturday morning’s on NBC.
He went on to play the character in some spinoffs of the series including “Saved by the Bell: The College Years,” and “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” however, not the recent reboot on the Peacock streaming service.
After the days of his role as Screech ended, Diamond worked on reality shows and appeared in the fifth season of “Celebrity Fit Club,” “The Weakest Link” and “Celebrity Boxing 2.”
Additionally, he was a house member in the twelfth season of “Celebrity Big Brother,” The Associated Press reported.
But Diamond had his real-life struggles: He was sued on a number of occasions for delinquent taxes and in foreclosure proceedings for lacking mortgage funds.
He also made a sex tape in 2006, however, he later informed Oprah Winfrey he used a body double.
Diamond was sentenced to serve 4 months behind bars in 2014 for his part in a barroom stabbing that happened in Wisconsin.
In his press release, Roger Paul described Dustin Diamond as “a humorous and high-spirited individual whose greatest passion was to make others laugh. He was able to sense and feel other peoples’ emotions to such a length that he was able to feel them too, a strength and a flaw, all in one.”
Diamond is survived by his father and girlfriend, Tash Jules, according to his representative.
Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
