News of Dustin Diamond’s death generated shock waves in the entertainment industry – and the cast of “Saved by the Bell” is still recovering from that, according to Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
Appearing on Tamron Hall’s eponymous talk show, Gosselaar talked about the death of his co-star and noted that “it is always difficult” when someone close to you dies.
“I think it’s even more so when the individual is someone you know and is Dustin’s age – it was just a few weeks ago that we heard about his diagnosis and that it happens so quickly is shocking,” said Gosselaar on the program. .
“Me and the rest of the cast are going to get together at some point and kind of express our feelings, but yes, it happened so fast that we were all very shocked by it,” explained the 46-year-old actor.
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The cast of ‘Saved by the Bell’, including Mario Lopez, Tiffani Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, paid tribute to the late Dustin Diamond.
(Photo: NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Cast members, including Mario Lopez, Tiffani Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies and Gosselaar himself paid tribute to the late actor after his death on Monday.
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Voorhies paid tribute to Diamond on Tuesday night, going to Instagram to share a photo of the two on the set while sharing some poignant words.
“Words can’t express the pain I’m feeling right now,” wrote Voorhies, 46. “Dustin and I had a warm and special friendship, he was a caring gentleman and my memories of him will always be appreciated.”
‘Saved by the Bell’ aired from 1989 to 1993 with Diamond on the right, starring as Samuel ‘Screech’ Powers and Gosselaar starring as Zachary ‘Zack’ Morris.
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“I am very sorry that he left. But it is extremely sad for his loved ones who did [sic] deal with his tragic death and his own great loss. My heart is with them at this difficult time, “she continued.
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Gosselaar later noted in his interview how he slowly moved away from Diamond and the rest of his castmates after “Saved by the Bell” was completed.
“A lot of people may not understand that you can work with someone for years – you can be very close, you see that person every day for an entire season of filming and then, when things are over, the camera stops, you just separate “Said Gosselaar. “There is no other reason than that things just happen in life and before you know it, years have passed and I think that’s what happened to Dustin with the rest of the cast.”
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“There was a time when I wasn’t talking to anyone in the cast,” revealed the actor.
“Saved by the Bell” aired from 1989 to 1993, and its developments included “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” and “Saved by the Bell: The New Class”, both of which Diamond starred in. It was not part of the “Salvo” reboot on NBC Peacock’s streaming platform.