Dennis Haskins (born November 18, 1950) is an American actor known for his role as Principal

Richard Belding The American television sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'', that aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993, follows a group of six high school students and their principal, Mr. Belding. Overview : = Main cast (credited) : = Recurring cast (4+) : = Guest cast ...

in the teen

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...

'', which ran from 1989 to 1993 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. He then went on to star in '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'', which aired from 1993 to 2000. He also portrayed the role as a regular in '' Good Morning, Miss Bliss''.

Early life

He was born in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

. Haskins is an alumnus of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as well as Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga and of the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

. He played basketball at UTC after failing to make the team at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

. He was also a member of the cheerleading squad. Haskins is a member of the

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...

fraternity. Dennis Haskins currently splits his time between

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and

Winthrop, Massachusetts Winthrop is a town in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at the north entrance to Boston Harbor, close to Logan ...

. Before breaking into acting, Haskins was a contestant on the TV game shows '' Press Your Luck'' and ''

Scrabble ''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left t ...

''.

Career

Television and film

Before his role on ''Saved by the Bell'', Haskins appeared in several episodes of ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...

'' in different roles. In the pilot episode, he plays a Boar's Nest patron whom Daisy thrashes after he attempts to grope her while she's working as a waitress. Haskins, who auditioned seven times for the role of Mr. Belding, first appeared as the character in 1988's ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

. After a year the show was retooled as ''Saved by the Bell'' on NBC, with Haskins being the only adult member of the regular cast. Known for the catchphrase "Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?", he continued the role on the spinoff ''Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' until 2000. He had a brief cameo as himself in the 2006 film '' Boys & Girls Guide To Getting Down''. As a guest on the March 4, 2010 episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Haskins boasted he was capable of bench pressing 150 pounds as a senior member of Notre Dame men's varsity basketball team. On February 4, 2015, Haskins reunited with

Mark-Paul Gosselaar Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (; born March 1, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles, most notably as Zack Morris in ''Saved by the Bell''. In 1991, he won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Pri ...

Elizabeth Berkley Elizabeth Berkley (born July 28, 1974) is an American actress. She played Jessie Spano in the television series '' Saved by the Bell'' and Nomi Malone/Polly Ann Costello in the 1995 Paul Verhoeven film ''Showgirls''. She voiced the title role ...

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on '' Saved by the Bell'', '' Saved by the Bell ...

and

Tiffani Thiessen Tiffani Amber Thiessen (born January 23, 1974) is an American actress who starred as Kelly Kapowski on NBC's ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993), as Valerie Malone on Fox's ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1994–98), and as Lori on Netflix's ''Alexa ...

on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' where they appeared in a ''Saved by the Bell'' sketch with Fallon. He appeared in the 2014 film ''

A Million Ways to Die in the West ''A Million Ways to Die in the West'' is a 2014 American Western dark comedy film directed by Seth MacFarlane and written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. The film features an ensemble cast including MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Am ...

'' as a snake oil salesman at the fair. In recent years, he has been lobbying to become a cast member on ABC's ''

Dancing With The Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

''.

Music and other media

On August 31, 2009, Haskins released his first music album called "Karaoke with Your Favorite Principal Dennis." On the album, he sings everything from " Piano Man" to " Mustang Sally", the latter being a duet with

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

's daughter

Brooke Hogan Brooke Ellen Bollea (born May 5, 1988), better known by her stage name Brooke Hogan, is an American television personality, singer, and actress. The daughter of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, she at one point served as an on-screen personal ...

. The CD was recorded in the summer of 2009 at Mikron Studios in

South Pittsburg, Tennessee South Pittsburg is a city in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN– GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,106 at the 2020 census. South Pittsburg is home to the National Cornbread Fes ...

, with Mike Headrick. Cody McCarver produced the project, and Mike Yarworth financed it. More recently, in 2010, Haskins appeared in the video for "See You in Shell" by experimental metalcore band

Iwrestledabearonce Iwrestledabearonce (often stylized in all lowercase; abbreviated as IWABO) was an American metalcore band formed in 2007 in Shreveport, Louisiana. In their nine years together, they released one EP, four full-length albums, and two remixed rele ...

, which parodied ''Saved by the Bell'' and films by John Hughes. Haskins is also a fan of professional wrestling and WWE. He has appeared in multiple episodes of ''Z! True Long Island Story'', a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

series by WWE professional wrestler

Zack Ryder Matthew Brett Cardona (born May 14, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Zack Ryd ...

. He is also friends with former

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

pitching coach

Rick Honeycutt Frederick Wayne Honeycutt (born June 29, 1954) is an American former professional baseball coach and pitcher. Honeycutt pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six different teams over 21 years, from 1977 to 1997. He pitched in 30 post-season ...

. On July 14, 2016, Haskins performed on stage with the 90s themed band, Saved by the 90s, in Toledo, Ohio at a

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

minor league baseball game. Haskins appears in the music video for

Dirty Heads Dirty Heads is an American reggae rock band from Huntington Beach, California. Their debut album, '' Any Port in a Storm'', was released on September 23, 2008, by Executive Music Group (Fontana/Universal). Their newest album, '' Midnight Contro ...

' "Vacation". He is seen in an empty high school lip syncing to the entire track. Haskins also appears in the music video for Khalid's "Young Dumb & Broke" where he plays a principal making an end of year announcement over the school's intercom.

Filmography

*''

'' (1979–1985) (TV series)...Elmo Smith / Gate Guard (uncredited) / Charlie Watkins / Moss *''Magnum PI: Autumn Warrior'' (1986) (TV series)...Del Haynes *'' Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' (1987) (TV series)... Mr. Richard Belding *''Hiroshima Maiden'' (1988) (TV)... Hal Latimer *''

'' (1989) (TV series)... Principal Richard Belding *'' The Image'' (1990) (TV)... Steven Fish *''Eyewitness to Murder'' (1991)... Dr. Baldwin *'' Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style'' (1992) (TV)... Mr. Richard Belding *'' Saved by the Bell: The College Years'' (1993) (TV series, guest)... Mr. Richard Belding *'' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993) (TV series)... Principal Richard Belding *'' Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas'' (1994) (TV)... Mr. Richard Belding *'' Figure It Out: Family Style'' (1998)... Himself (panelist) *'' The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes'' (1999)... Boyd Russell *''18'' (2001)... Laura's Dad *''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'' "Bartlet for America" (2001)... C.E.O. Donor #2 *''

Max Keeble's Big Move ''Max Keeble's Big Move'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Tim Hill, written by David L. Watts, James Greer, Jonathan Bernstein and Mark Blackwell and starring Alex D. Linz, Larry Miller, Jamie Kennedy, Nora Dunn, and Robert Carradin ...

'' (2001)... Mr. Kohls *''The Stoneman'' (2002)... Dean Hendricks *''An Ordinary Killer'' (2002)... Ronald Smith *''Dismembered'' (2003) *''Going Down'' (2003)... Uncle Frank *''

Red Water ''Red Water'' is a 2003 American made-for-television horror film starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Kristy Swanson, Gideon Emery and Coolio. When former oil rig worker turned fishing captain John Sanders (Lou Diamond Phillips) agrees to help when hi ...

'' (2003) (TV)... Captain Dale Landry *''Tangy Guacamole'' (2003)... Toss Honeycut *'' 7th Heaven'': "Stand Up" (2003)... Traffic Officer *''

An Ordinary Killer Dawn Lee Swan Magyar (March 28, 1952 – January 27, 1973) was found murdered in March 1973, in a wooded area in Chapin, Michigan. She had been reported missing since January 27, 1973, from her home in Chesaning, Michigan. Believed to have been ...

'' (2004)... Ronald Smith *''Dead End Road'' (2004)... Mr. Makepiece *'' JAG'' (2004) (TV Series)... Airport Security S-1 *''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and developed by McElhenney and Glenn Howerton that premiered on August 4, 2005 on FX and later FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. It stars Char ...

'' (2005)... Coach Murray *''Wild Michigan'' (2005)... Sheriff Folgar *''The Treasure of Painted Forest'' (2005)... Sheriff Thomas *''

The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down ''The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Paul Sapiano. The film had its world premiere in the Guilty Pleasures section at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival on June 25, 2006. It was released in the Unit ...

'' (2006)... Himself *''Revamped'' (2007) (V) ... Satanist #2 *''Sweep The Leg'' (2007)... Pizza Store owner/dad *'' Ratko: The Dictator's Son'' (2008) ... Dean Sitlong *''

Ocean of Pearls ''Ocean of Pearls'' is a movie released in 2008. It is the first film directed by Sarab Singh Neelam, a Sikh gastroenterologist from Troy, Michigan. It was written by Neelam and Veerendra Prasad. Plot Dr. Amrit Singh, A young Sikh surgeon, moves ...

'' (2008) ... Dr. Shultz *''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The write ...

'' (TV series) (V) ... Jigsaw / Mr. Belding *''Private High Musical'' (2008)... Mr. Johnson *''Stacy's Mom'' (2008) ... Professor Wood *''Creative Differences'' (2008) ... Tom *''The Legend of Awesomest Maximus'' (2008) ... Father Jay *''Acting School Academy'' (Web Series) (2009)... Martin DeWitt *''

Men Of A Certain Age ''Men of a Certain Age'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce, that ran on TNT from December 7, 2009, to July 6, 2011. The hour-long program stars Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula as three ...

'' (TV Series) (2010)... Terry's Landlord *''See You In Shell'', Music Video by

iwrestledabearonce Iwrestledabearonce (often stylized in all lowercase; abbreviated as IWABO) was an American metalcore band formed in 2007 in Shreveport, Louisiana. In their nine years together, they released one EP, four full-length albums, and two remixed rele ...

(2010) *''Neighborhood Watch'' (Web Series) (2010)... Principal Gibbous *''Z! True Long Island Story'' (Web Series) (2011–2013)... Himself/Mr. Belding *''

Victorious ''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around asp ...

'' (TV Series) (2012)... Mr. Belding *''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...

'' (TV Series) (2012)...

Cool Whip Cool Whip is an American brand of imitation whipped cream, referred to as a '' whipped topping'' by its manufacturer, Kraft Heinz. It is used in North America as a topping for desserts, and in some no-bake pie recipes as a convenience food or ing ...

Test kitchen

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosop ...

*''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main c ...

'' (TV Series) (2012)... Judge #2 *''The JBL and Cole Show'' (Web Series) (2013)... Himself *''

'' (2014) ... Snake Oil Salesman *''

New Girl ''New Girl'' is an American television sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether and produced by 20th Television for Fox that originally aired from September 20, 2011, to May 15, 2018. The series revolves around a kooky teacher, Jessica Day ( Zoo ...

'' (2014) ... Santa *''Up on the Wooftop'' (2015)... Santa Claus *''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's hig ...

'' (2015)... Reverend Bower *''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'' (2015)... Mr. Richard Belding *''Holly, Jingles and Clyde'' (2017) ... Santa Claus *'' Bennett's Song'' (2018)...Gpa Sam Bennett *''

Abstruse In philosophy, the terms obscurantism and obscurationism describe the anti-intellectual practices of deliberately presenting information in an abstruse and imprecise manner that limits further inquiry and understanding of a subject. There are two ...

'' (2019)...Senator Stevens *''

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...

'' (2019)...Bob Jenkins *''

Clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

'' (2019)... Mr. Collins *'' A Bennett Song Holiday'' (2020)...Gpa Sam Bennett

Awards

Haskins was honored with The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Most Distinguished Alumni of 2000 award and has a regional high school academic decathlon named after him, The Dennis Haskins Open, now in its eleventh year.

References

External links

* *
Dennis Haskins
at

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

2003 Interview with Dennis Haskins

Review of a college performance by Haskins.

Dennis Haskins' karaoke album at Lucky Voice Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskins, Dennis 1950 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Living people People from Chattanooga, Tennessee Male actors from Tennessee