Dennis Haskins

Dennis Button Haskins IV was an American actor best known for portraying Principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom Saved by the Bell. He first played the character as a regular on Good Morning, Miss Bliss, continued in Saved by the Bell from 1989 to 1993, and starred in the spinoff series Saved by the Bell: The New Class from 1993 to 2000. He was recognized for his signature catchphrase on the show, "Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?"

Haskins was born on November 18, 1950, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga before studying at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After failing to make the basketball team at the University of Tennessee, he played basketball at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he was also on the cheerleading squad. During his college years, Haskins belonged to the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Before entering the acting profession, he appeared as a contestant on the television game show Scrabble.

Before landing his signature television role, Haskins appeared in several episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard playing different roles, including a patron at the Boar's Nest in the pilot episode. He auditioned seven times for the role of Mr. Belding before first appearing as the character in 1988 on the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss. When the show was retooled a year later into Saved by the Bell on NBC, Haskins remained as the only adult member of the regular cast. He continued playing the character through 2000 in Saved by the Bell: The New Class.

Following his long-running television role, Haskins appeared in various film and media projects. He made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2006 film The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down and portrayed a snake oil salesman in the 2014 movie A Million Ways to Die in the West. He made guest appearances on late-night television, including a 2010 episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and a 2015 Saved by the Bell reunion sketch on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon alongside several former cast members. In recent years, he actively lobbied to join the cast of Dancing with the Stars.

In August 2009, Haskins released a music album titled Karaoke with Your Favorite Principal Dennis, recorded at Mikron Studios in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, which featured a duet with Brooke Hogan. Haskins also appeared in several music videos, including Iwrestledabearonce's "See You in Shell," Dirty Heads' "Vacation," and Khalid's "Young Dumb & Broke." Additionally, he performed live with the band Saved by the 90s in Toledo, Ohio, in 2016. A fan of professional wrestling, he appeared in episodes of the YouTube series Z! True Long Island Story and was friends with former pitching coach Rick Honeycutt.

Haskins died in Burbank, California, on September 27, 2026, at the age of 75. Eight years prior to his death, he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.