Dennis Haskins
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Image:Belding.jpg Dennis Haskins, right |
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Born: | 18 November 1950 Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA |
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Occupation: | Actor |
Dennis Haskins (born November 18, 1950, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA) is an American actor best known for his role as principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom Saved by the Bell, which ran from 1989 to 1993 on NBC.
Before his foray into acting, Haskins briefly worked as a concert promoter, associating with the likes of Earth, Wind, and Fire and Tom Jones. In the mid-1980s, Haskins was a contestant on Scrabble hosted by Chuck Woolery.
After the end of the original series, Haskins would continue his role with the spin-off Saved by the Bell: The New Class, until its cancellation in 2000. He has also made guest appearances on a variety of TV series, including The Dukes of Hazzard, 7th Heaven and JAG. Most recently, he appeared in an episode of FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
On the E! True Hollywood Story special on Saved by the Bell, Haskins mentioned his difficulty of obtaining parts, as he is now typecast as Mr. Belding. Haskins grew a moustache and put on a considerable amount of weight to distance himself from the character for a time.
[edit] Trivia
- Haskins is an alum of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The UTC quizbowl team hosts an annual high school quizbowl tournament named for him. He provides autographed materials for prizes.
- Haskins is an alum of Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, TN.
- He is a brother of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
- He played basketball at UTC after failing to make the team at the University of Tennessee.
- Dennis Haskins appears on a website in which individuals can request a phone call from Mr. Belding himself for special occasions, http://hollywoodiscalling.com/.
- Haskins made a surprise appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in January 2007, and reprised the Mr. Belding role for a comedian. The comedian guest got into a 'joking' argument with a lady in the audience who said she did not watch Saved by the Bell re-runs, and then proceeded to name the cast members with the rest of the audience. When he got to Mr. Belding, out came Dennis Haskins, who apologized for the 'rudeness' of the comedian and to the lady in the audience, and dragged him off stage by the ear.
- Haskins has recently been touring college campuses throughout the country for question-and-answer presentations as well as autograph-signing. His presentation embraces his Saved by the Bell character and he claims he remains good friends with several members of the cast.
[edit] Filmography
- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2006)...Basketball Coach
- The Painted Forest (2005)... Sheriff Thomas
- Wild Michigan (2005)... Sheriff Folgar
- Dead End Road (2004)... Mr. Makepiece
- Tangy Guacamole (2003)... Toss Honeycut
- Red Water (2003) (TV)... Captain Dale Landry
- Going Down (2003)... Uncle Frank
- Dismembered (2003)
- An Ordinary Killer (2002)... Ronald Smith
- The Stoneman (2002)... Dean Hendricks
- Max Keeble's Big Move (2001)... Mr. Kohls
- 18 (2001)... Laura's Dad
- The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes (1999)... Boyd Russell
- Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas (1994) (TV)... Mr. Richard Belding
- Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993) (TV series)... Principal Richard Belding
- Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style (1992) (TV)... Mr. Richard Belding
- Eyewitness to Murder (1991)... Dr. Baldwin
- The Image (1990) (TV)... Steven Fish
- Saved by the Bell (1989) (TV series)... Principal Richard Belding
- The Molester (1988) (TV movie)... Lance McBeefwell
- Hiroshima Maiden (1988) (TV)... Hal Latimer
- Good Morning, Miss Bliss (1987) (TV series)... Mr. Richard Belding