The man known to millions that grew up in the 1990s as Samuel "Screech" Powers on NBC's Saved by the Bell, Dustin Diamond, has passed away after a brief battle with cancer. It was just weeks ago that Diamond learned he had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and was seeking medical support. His condition declined precipitously and TMZ reports he passed away earlier today.
Diamond's death comes only a few weeks after he completed his first round of chemo after he was diagnosed with stage 4 small cell carcinoma … commonly referred to as lung cancer. He was first hospitalized back in January after feeling pain across his body. Sadly, doctors would soon discover that he had cancer and that it was progressing at an alarming rate.
While Diamond played the lovable Screech for four seasons of Saved by the Bell, then reprised his character for a short-lived spinoff with Saved by the Bell: The College Years, and even played Mr. Belding's assistant for Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Diamond was not invited to be a part of Peacock's latest revival of the show.
In addition to his Saved by the Bell appearances, Diamond appeared on several reality shows, including Celebrity Boxing 2 and Celebrity Fit Club. In time, Diamond became problematic and was often found at war with cast members. Regardless of his combative nature, cancer sucks and hearing that Diamond's final days were spent battling the disease is upsetting, to say the least. We here at JoBlo hope that he finds peace in the Great Hereafter, and would like to extend our condolences to his family, friends, and fans.