Dennis Haskins Passed Away!

Dennis Haskins, the lovable Mr. Belding on Save By the Bell passed away.

A part of your childhood died this week.

Yearly wrap up.

Dennis Haskins, best known for playing Mr. Belding from Save By The Bell (and Good Morning Miss Bliss) has passed away.

Haskins, 75 has passed away according to his friend and caretaker.

An official cause of death has not been confirmed, but Haskins did have Parkinson's. That's according to Dimples Karaoke where Haskins was a regular.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by dimpleskaraoke (@dimpleskaraoke)

Haskins became known to generations of viewers as the principal of Bayside High, earning the nickname “America’s Favorite Principal.”

Before his television career, Haskins was deeply involved at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Born in Chattanooga on Nov. 18, 1950, Haskins attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Notre Dame High School and UTC.

During college, he reported for the student newspaper, performed with the Drama Club and Harlequins, served as Student Government Association entertainment chairman and belonged to Blue Key Honor Fraternity and the Raven’s Society.

He was also a founding member of the Harlequins community theater group, where he acted, worked as a stage manager and wrote original plays.

As entertainment chairman, Haskins organized student events and helped bring Ike and Tina Turner to UTC in 1973.

Haskins also used his campus involvement to support the community.

The 1990s sitcom Save By the Bell broke barriers.

Through Blue Key, he helped organize the annual “Freaks vs. Fuzz” basketball game, which raised scholarship money for the children of UTC and Chattanooga police officers.

He also helped get Mocs basketball games televised right here on NewsChannel 9.

Haskins first played Mr. Belding in “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” on the Disney Channel in 1988.

The show was renamed “Saved by the Bell” the following year and became a defining sitcom of the 1990s.

After leaving Bayside High, Haskins appeared in films and television shows including “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “A Million Ways to Die in the West.”