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“Know your job and don’t fake it. It looks easy, but the ones that make it look easy know what the hell they’re doing. They may tell you around the dining room table that you’re funny and you should be an actor, but until you challenge yourself by getting on a stage or in front of a camera, that’s when you’re knowledge of the craft separates you from the pretenders.”

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Most famous for her role as Samuel “Screech” Powers on Saved by the Bell and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Dustin Diamond made a variety of television guest appearances on shows that included: The Price of Life, American Playhouse, It’s a Living and Yogi’s Great Escape (Diamond was the voice of “Chubby kid”)in 1987 and Purple People Eater in 1988.

From 1988-1989, Diamond played Samuel “Screech” Powers on Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which also starred Hayley Mills as the teacher, Dennis Haskins as Mr. Belding, Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack, and Lark Voorhies as Lisa. The series was set at a middle school in Indianapolis though many of the characters from the original series, made the commute to Bayside High in Palisades, California while adding a few new characters for Saved by the Bell, which would become the series Dustin Diamond is most famous for.

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Dustin Diamond does Saved by the Bell

Diamond’s largest claim to fame thus far in Hollywood has been his stint on several Saved by the Bell television series, including the original Saved by the Bell where he played Screech, who was often the butt of the jokes of his classmates. Diamond was surrounded by an ensemble cast that included Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Lark Voorhies, Tiffany (Amber) Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Mario Lopez. In the original series and in Saved by the Bell: The College Years, many of the same cast transferred to college life together, leaving behind Elizabeth Berkley, who played Jessie Spano and Lark Voorhies who played Lisa Turtle.

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Eventually, Diamond would return to Bayside High, this time as a staff member, in Saved by the Bell: The New Class. The series ran for six years and introduced “Screech” to a new audience before ending in 2000.

Life Outside the Bell and Dustin Diamond the Musician

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Since his days at Bayside High, Dustin Diamond has led an eclectic life of guest appearances, reality television, stand-up comedy, and even started his own band, Salty the Pocketknife, who released one album, Salty the Pocketknife. The music and lyrics were largely written by Dustin Diamond and include numbers like Magic Garbage Ride, Senior Gonzo, Sever, Shiny Lies, and Pour No Gasoline.

Of his music, Diamond says, “Our music, you either get it or you don’t. There’s no middle ground.” He goes on to admit he didn’t expect to become an overnight sensation, instead hoping for a dedicated cult following, “If we could sell 100,000 units every album, that would rock. We’d have a big cult following, we’d have a built-in fanbase so we could pretty much play anywhere, people would show up and rock out.”

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Alas, it was not meant to be as the band broke up after completing its first album due to internal bickering.

Diamond reportedly tried his hand at writing with the poorly received expose novel, Behind the Bell. He later reported, amid backlash and allegations of outright falsehoods in the book, that the book was ghostwritten based on interviews he had provided. He stated that some of his responses to interview questions were taken out of context or completely fabricated.

Diamond also tried his hand at directing and producing over the years, producing The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story (2014), Screeched (2006), and Dustin Diamond Teaches Chess (2001).

His personal life has seen some difficulties over the years with some controversies arising. These are not only disputes with cast members about the book, but also related to his relationships with women. Diamond views himself as an alpha male, making comments like, “I’m a shepherd, not a sheep, and I’ve always prided myself on being a leader and not a follower.”

While he is largely on the fringes of Hollywood and television today, he has been around in the business for quite some time. He is no longer enjoying the height of stardom, but he continues playing guest spots and making a name for himself in Tinsel Town. Unfortunately, his time in and out of the spotlight has left him somewhat jaded. It’s obvious in statements he makes to the tune of, “I’ve been in this business so long, it just doesn’t phase me. I know what’s going to happen before it happens.”