Mark-Paul Gosselaar Remembers How Dennis Haskins Made the Saved by the Bell Set Feel Safe

Beyond the principal’s office

On Saved by the Bell, Zack Morris could count on one thing: sooner or later, his latest scheme would land him in Mr. Belding’s office.

Off camera, Mark-Paul Gosselaar remembers a very different relationship with Dennis Haskins, the actor who played the Bayside High principal. Haskins, he says, treated the young cast with respect and helped them feel safe while they were growing up on a television set.

In an Entertainment Weekly interview republished by AOL, Gosselaar described his late co-star as more like a big brother and a mentor than another parent. Haskins died in September at age 75.

“He always leveled with us”

Gosselaar told EW that Haskins never approached the younger actors as if he were superior to them. They were children, he said, and Haskins was an adult working alongside them; what stayed with him was the genuine respect his co-star showed.

“He always leveled with us,” Gosselaar said. He also remembered Haskins as someone the cast could approach with questions. The actor said he was grateful for the environment Haskins helped create, particularly looking back on how much patience working with young performers could require.

It is a small detail with a long life: for a generation of viewers, Belding was the adult trying to rein in Bayside’s most resourceful troublemaker. For the actor playing that troublemaker, Haskins was also someone who made the set feel welcoming.

A friendship that faded from view

Gosselaar also told EW that he and his former castmates had lost touch with Haskins in recent years. He said they had reached out during the actor’s illness but did not hear back.

Gosselaar said it seemed to him that Haskins did not want to burden anyone, and that he wished they had been able to talk. That was Gosselaar’s impression, not an explanation Haskins publicly gave for not responding.

Haskins had Parkinson’s disease, EW reported. His agent confirmed his death to ABC News. The two actors had publicly reunited with other cast members for a Tonight Show sketch in 2015.

Mr. Belding’s long run

Haskins first played Richard Belding on Good Morning, Miss Bliss, then carried the role into Saved by the Bell, which ran from 1989 to 1993. He later returned as the principal in spin-offs, including Saved by the Bell: The New Class, according to EW.

After his death, fellow cast members paid tribute. Tiffani Thiessen remembered his kindness, while Mario Lopez recalled his playfulness and love of karaoke, according to the syndicated EW report.

Gosselaar’s new recollection adds another layer to a character millions knew: behind the office door was a colleague the young cast could turn to.

Timeline: from Bayside to a final tribute

1. 1989–1993Saved by the Bell airs with Gosselaar as Zack Morris and Haskins as Principal Belding. Entertainment Weekly via AOL
2. February 2015Haskins reunites with several co-stars for a Tonight Show sketch. ABC News
3. September 2026Haskins dies at 75. ABC News
4. October 31, 2026Entertainment Weekly publishes Gosselaar’s reflections on his former co-star. EW via AOL

Sources and visual credits

Entertainment Weekly, as republished by AOL · ABC News.

Thumbnail: 2018 archive photo of Dennis Haskins by Timothy Norris / Lucha VaVOOM, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped. In-story photo: 2025 archive image by Super Festivals, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. The hero background is an editorial illustration, not an actual television set.