Dustin Diamond, best known for playing Screech on “Saved by the Bell,” died Monday, less than a month after being diagnosed with Stage 4 small cell carcinoma.
He was 44.
“He was diagnosed with this brutal, relentless form of malignant cancer only three weeks ago,” his spokesman said in a statement to the Daily News. “In that time, it managed to spread rapidly throughout his system; the only mercy it exhibited was its sharp and swift execution. Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful.”
The childhood actor was hospitalized in Florida for overall body pain and was diagnosed there. He began his first round of chemotherapy shortly after.
After reprising his role in spinoffs “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” and “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” Diamond moved on to minor roles in movies like “Made,” “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love,” and appearances on “Celebrity Fit Club,” “The Weakest Link” and “Celebrity Boxing 2.”
He joined, then got kicked off of, “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2013.
“The hardest thing about being a child star is giving up your childhood. You don’t get a childhood, really,” Diamond said on a 2013 episode of “Where Are They Now?”
“You’re a performer, you have to know your lines and rehearse and practice, making sure you are the funniest and the best you can be. Because if you weren’t funny, you could be replaced.”
The California native did not appear in Peacock’s “Saved by the Bell” revival last year; his former classmates explained that Screech was living on the International Space Station with his robot, Kevin.
