Saved By The Bell Actors You May Not Know Passed Away
For many '90s kids, Saved by the Bell was the TV show of our childhoods. We couldn't get enough of Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Amber Thiessen), A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), and the rest of the gang's high school hijinks, and the large ensemble of characters helped create plenty of memorable TV moments over the years.
It's been a long time since the original series was on the air, and many of the stars of Saved by the Bell went on to have lasting careers in Hollywood — some have even reprised their roles in the latest reboot. Sadly, there are other actors from the show who have since died. There were so many guest stars and supporting players on the series, and it makes sense if you haven't kept up with all of their careers — so the news of some of their deaths may come as a bit of a shock.
From Bayside teachers to one unforgettable student, here are the Saved by the Bell actors who are no longer with us.
Jack Angeles left a memorable impression as Mr. Tuttle
The teachers at Bayside High were definitely a mixed bag. Some seemed happier to torment their students than educate them — and some were clearly over their heads when it came to dealing with teenagers. That wasn't the case for Mr. Tuttle (Jack Angeles), the resident choir director, music teacher, and driver's education instructor.
Jovial and well-liked by his pupils, Mr. Tuttle's only real adversity during his tenure on Saved by the Bell came from his antagonistic relationship with Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins). Though he only appeared in a handful of episodes, Mr. Tuttle was still one of the most notable teachers on the series.
Saved by the Bell was Angeles' most notable acting role, though he did also appear in a few other TV series and films, including guest appearances on Falcon Crest and Growing Pains. In May 2009, he passed away at the age of 59 following a brief hospitalization.
Monty Hoffman's Coach Sonski had a less-than-savory legacy
Coach Sonski (Monty Hoffman) wasn't exactly the kind of character that would go over well in a 21st century TV show. As an overtly "sexist pig" — at least as far as Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) was concerned — he was polarizing during his two-episode stint on Saved by the Bell. He's probably best remembered as the testosterone-fueled coach who refused to let a girl be on the wrestling team.
Outside of his brief role on Saved by the Bell, comedian Hoffman got his start in Hollywood as a bouncer in the film Howard the Duck. He was a popular guest on many popular '90s TV series, including Roseanne, Boy Meets World, and Family Matters, and made several appearances on stand-up comic series such as A Night at the Improv and Last Comic Standing. He appeared in Judd Apatow's Funny People in 2009. Monty Hoffman died in 2013 at the age of 60.
Louan Gideon really shook things up on Saved by the Bell as Becky Belding
As principal of Bayside High, Mr. Belding held court over the hallways — and it was sometimes easy to forget he had a life outside the school. However, over the course of the series, we met several of his family members, including his wife, Becky (Louan Gideon). In fact, her appearance in the season 4 episode "Earthquake" remains one of the weirder moments in Saved by the Bell history. Trapped in an elevator with Zach and Tori (Leanna Creel), Becky goes into labor and throws the teens' lives (and her own) into momentary chaos.
While Gideon made her mark with only a single episode, her career spanned far beyond the series. Best known for her work as the villainous CEO Danielle Atron in The Secret World of Alex Mack, the actress racked up more than 30 credits to her name over the course of her 27-year career in Hollywood. Her last appearance was in the 2013 film 10 Rules for Sleeping Around.
Louan Gideon passed away in February 2014 at the age of 58. Her obituary listed cancer as her cause of death.
Dustin Diamond's untimely death shocked Saved by the Bell fans
Anyone who watched the original Saved by the Bell will tell you that Samuel "Screech" Powers was one of the series' most unforgettable characters. Dustin Diamond played Zack Morris' geeky sidekick and showed lots of his character's lovable qualities for 12 years and hundreds of episodes across the franchise, from Good Morning Miss Bliss to Saved by the Bell: The New Class. While his post-Bell career was marked more by controversy than new career highs, Diamond's legacy as a teen star is still indisputable. As such, when the actor passed away at the age of 44, fans were shocked and heartbroken.
Diamond's death in February 2021 was widely reported on by the media, and it came just weeks after his team announced he had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Many of his former Saved by the Bell castmates offered words of support upon learning of his illness.