What Happened to Dustin Diamond? Inside the Late Actor's Life After “Saved by the Bell”
What Happened to Dustin Diamond? Inside the Late Actor's Life After “Saved by the Bell”
Emily BlackwoodThu, May 7, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC
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Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers in 'Saved By The Bell'; Dustin Diamond on May 16, 2016 in Universal City, California.
Credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty; Noel Vasquez/Getty
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Dustin Diamond played Screech for over 10 years on Saved by the Bell and subsequent spinoffs
He struggled to move beyond his on-screen persona and pursued stand-up comedy, reality TV and professional wrestling
In February 2021, the actor died weeks after being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer
Dustin Diamond's career took a number of pivots after the conclusion of Saved by the Bell.
The actor famously played Samuel "Screech" Powers for over a decade in the original teen sitcom and its spinoffs, The College Years and The New Class.
When he finally bid adieu to the character in 2000, Diamond struggled to escape the quirky persona that had defined him, pivoting to stand-up comedy, reality TV and professional wrestling in search of a foothold.
“I didn't really know what I was going to do,” Diamond said in a December 2013 appearance on Oprah: Where Are They Now?. “It was hard to get work that wasn't Screech-cloned stuff.”
His personal life proved equally turbulent. A tell-all book strained his relationships with former castmates, and he served a three-month sentence after stabbing a man in a bar altercation.
Then, just one month after announcing a stage 4 small cell carcinoma diagnosis, Diamond died on Feb. 1, 2021. He was 44.
Here's what happened to Dustin Diamond after Saved by the Bell.
Diamond pivoted to stand-up comedy, boxing and reality TV
Dustin Diamond during 'Celebrity Boxing 2' Weigh-In on May 14, 2002 in Hollywood, California; Dustin Diamond at the Celebrity Big Brother House on August 22, 2013 in Hertfordshire.
Credit: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Doug Peters/Alamy
After The New Class ended in 2000, Diamond struggled to find work as an actor.
He landed small roles and cameos in films like Big Fat Liar, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, and was featured on reality shows like Celebrity Boxing 2 and Celebrity Fit Club, according to his obituary in The New York Times.
The former teen star attempted to launch a stand-up comedy career in the 2010s, but it never quite took off. Diamond also made several appearances as a professional wrestler, including competing in Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling in 2008, per Wrestling Inc.
He published a tell-all book about his Saved by the Bell costars, later claiming it was exaggerated
Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris, Dustin Diamond as Samuel 'Screech' Powers (back row l-r) Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski, Mario Lopez as A.C. Slater, Lark Voorhees as Lisa Turtle and Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Spano in 'Saved By The Bell'.
Credit: Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
In 2009, Diamond penned Behind the Bell, a tell-all book about his time on Saved by the Bell. In it, he alleged that Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who played Zack Morris, used steroids (which he denied) and that Mario Lopez, who played A.C. Slater, was a "womanizer" on set.
Following backlash from his former costars, the actor retracted the claims and said he was taken advantage of by a ghostwriter.
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"That came about from throwaway statements of [the ghostwriter asking], ‘Was anybody doing drugs or sleeping together on the set?' ‘Well, what do you think — there was a bunch of kids with hormones, 15-, 16-years-old.' ” Diamond recalled on Oprah: Where Are They Now?
He continued, “That turned into factual trash-talking about everybody. I have nothing but good thoughts and memories towards everybody.”
The '90s star publicly apologized to the Saved by the Bell cast in a November 2016 interview on The Dr. Oz Show, saying it was his "best weapon for repairing the damage that was caused by things that were done by people who took advantage" of him at the time.
Diamond served three months in jail after a barroom stabbing
Dustin Diamond during his trial in the Ozaukee County Courthouse on May 29, 2015 in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
Credit: Jeffrey Phelps/Getty
In 2015, the Saved by the Bell alum was accused of stabbing a man during a bar fight in Wisconsin, per The New York Times. He claimed he acted out of self-defense after his girlfriend, Amanda Schutz, was physically assaulted.
“I felt like we were being set up for antagonistic purposes,” Diamond claimed during his trial.
Though he was cleared of a felony charge of recklessly endangering public safety, the actor was convicted of two misdemeanors: carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct.
He served three months in jail and paid $1,000 to the victim.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in 2021
Dustin Diamond on May 16, 2016 in Universal City, California.
Credit: Noel Vasquez/Getty
In January 2021, Diamond's rep confirmed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 small cell carcinoma. Weeks after he had started chemotherapy, the 44-year-old actor died on Feb. 1, 2021.
"He was diagnosed with this brutal, relentless form of malignant cancer only three weeks ago," Diamond's rep told PEOPLE in a statement. "In that time, it managed to spread rapidly throughout his system; the only mercy it exhibited was its sharp and swift execution."
The statement continued, "Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful."
Diamond's costar Lark Voorhies was one of the only Saved by the Bell cast to reach out to the actor before he died, sharing in an episode of ID's Hollywood Demons: After the Bell that she misses him still.
"When he died of cancer, that hurt. Even with Dustin gone, we still carried it on, in the name of Saved by the Bell, Peter Engel, all of the writers and producers, and Dustin," Voorhies said. "When we all got to celebrate him, I'm glad we got that on footage, because he matters."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
