A photo of Dustin Diamond. (Image courtesy: dustindiamondofficial)
lights
- “Dustin didn’t suffer,” said the actor’s agent
- “He didn’t need to be in pain,” added the agent.
- Diamond launched his career with ‘Good Morning, Miss Bliss’
New York:
American actor Dustin Diamond, best known for playing the nerdy Screech in the hit TV series Saved by the gong, died on Monday, his agent said, just weeks after being 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. At 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 be in pain. For that, we are grateful.” Diamond, a California native, launched his career with Good morning Miss. Bliss, a series about high school students that lasted only one season, but that generated Saved by the bell.
Dustin Diamond’s Screech character, along with several others, were transported to the fictional Bayside High School in California by Bell, which aired for four seasons, starting in 1989.
The cheerful show addressing the ups and downs of adolescence was popular in the United States and abroad.
Diamond’s eccentric Samuel “Screech” Powers was the perfect contrast to Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s Zack Morris.
Although he was one of the main reasons for the show’s success, Diamond’s career did not take off afterwards.
– ‘We will miss you’ –
Others besides some Saved by the gong spinoffs and films made for television, he rarely worked on small roles.
In 2009, your book that tells everything“Behind the bell it contained some juicy backstage stories from the set – but Diamond later admitted it was full of fabricated anecdotes.
In 2015, he was sentenced to four months in prison for possession of a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct in connection with stabbing in a bar.
He was released from prison a month in early 2016 for good behavior.
In recent years, Diamond has worked as a stand-up comedian and has appeared on several reality TV shows.
“We are aware that Dustin is not considered respectable by the majority. He has a history of accidents, unfortunate events,” said his agent on Monday.
“We want the public to understand that he was not intentionally malevolent. (…) His actions, although objectionable, resulted from the loss and the lack of knowledge on how to adequately process this pain ”.
Last year, when the rest of the Saved by the gong cast assembled for another reboot, Diamond did not appear.
His former castmates paid tribute to him on Monday.
“Deeply sad to hear of the death of Dustin Diamond, a true comedy genius,” wrote Gosselaar on Twitter.
“Looking back on our time together, I will miss those raw, shiny sparks that only he was able to produce. A pie in your face, my comrade.”
Mario Lopez, who played AC Slater in Bell, he added: “Dustin, you will be missed, my man. The fragility of this life is something that will never be taken for granted.”
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by the NDTV team and is published from a syndicated feed.)