The Saved by the Bell actor hid his diagnosis for eight years, even from his ex-wife and closest friends, before dying last month in Burbank.
Dennis Haskins' death certificate lists Parkinson's disease as the cause of death, TMZ reported, confirming what had been rumoured since the actor died on September 27 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. He was 75.
The document, obtained from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, also names irritable bowel syndrome, depression, hypertension and benign prostatic hyperplasia as other significant conditions he was living with.
What makes this one sting is how long Haskins kept it quiet. His ex-wife, Sarah Quinones, told TMZ he never told her about the Parkinson's, and that in his final years he simply stopped picking up calls and replying to texts from her and from friends who'd known him for decades. He was living in an assisted-living facility by then, away from public life entirely. Bollywood Shaadis reported his last public sighting was at a Clippers-Spurs game back in December 2018.
Dimples Karaoke, the Burbank bar where Haskins was apparently a regular, put out a statement that fills in the why. "About eight years ago, he became ill," it read. "He had been silent about his fight with Parkinson's, among other health concerns, because he did not want the attention. He did not want to have to tell people. He would say, 'What do I even say?' So I respected his wishes and stayed quiet."
Haskins' agent of more than two decades, Jay Schachter, confirmed the death to Deadline with a statement that read like a eulogy from someone who'd genuinely lost a friend. "It's a tragic loss," he said. "Everyone loved Mr. Belding and those of us who got to know Dennis, loved him even more. He was a great person, and he loved, I mean absolutely LOVED his fans. He always had time for them, no matter what."
For a generation that grew up on NBC Saturday mornings, Haskins was Principal Richard Belding, full stop. He first played the character opposite Hayley Mills in 1989's Good Morning, Miss Bliss, then carried it through four seasons of Saved by the Bell and seven more of Saved by the Bell: The New Class, right up to the show's finale in 2000. He popped back into the role in 2015 for a Tonight Show reunion sketch with Jimmy Fallon, the last time most fans saw him in character.
His resume outside Bayside High was longer than people remember. The West Wing, Mad Men, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, JAG, 7th Heaven, Victorious. Decades of steady character work that never quite escaped Belding's shadow, and maybe never needed to.
No funeral or memorial details have been made public yet. Given how private Haskins kept his final years, it may be a while before anyone outside his closest circle knows if or when one is planned.
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