Dustin Diamond, the actor that played Samuel “Screech” Powers on the long running Saturday morning teen and pre-teen sitcom “Saved By The Bell” has died.  Diamond was 44, and was just diagnosed with stage 4 small-cell lung cancer just three weeks ago.

Diamond played the loveable nerd Screech on the show and later starred in the spin-off Saved by The Bell:The College Years and then starred as a teacher in the spinoff “Saved by The Bell, The Next Class.”

In 2009, Diamond published a tell all book called “Behind The Bell” which alienated his former cast members and pretty much ended his involvement with the show.  There have been several reunions and a re-boot of the series on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock, and Diamond was not invited to participate in any of the projects.

In 2001, Diamond filed for bankruptcy in California. On June 13, 2006, Diamond appeared on The Howard Stern Show asking listeners to visit his website and purchase a t-shirt. Diamond stated on the show that he hoped to sell 30,000 t-shirts that read “I paid $15.00 to save Screeech’s house” (spelling “Screech” with an extra E for copyright reasons) in order to raise $250,000 and avoid foreclosure on his house. 

On December 26, 2014, Diamond was arrested in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, for possession of a switchblade knife, which he was alleged to have pulled during a bar altercation in which a man was stabbed. On May 29, 2015, Diamond was convicted of two misdemeanors, carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct. He was cleared of the most serious charge, recklessly endangering public safety. On June 25, 2015, Diamond was sentenced to four months in jail.  He served three months and was released on probation. Diamond’s probation agent determined that he had violated the terms of his probation, and he was arrested in May 2016.