What Hollywood Has To Say About Dustin Diamond's Death
When Dustin Diamond's death was announced on the star's Facebook page Monday, many of his co-stars and other celebrities joined fans on social media in expressing their condolences and memories. Diamond died from late-stage lung cancer after a brief battle with the disease.
His Saved by the Bell co-star Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack) tweeted, "Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dustin Diamond, a true comedic genius. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Looking back at our time working together, I will miss those raw, brilliant sparks that only he was able to produce. A pie in your face, my comrade." Mario Lopez, who played Slater on the show, also tweeted, "Dustin, you will be missed my man. The fragility of this life is something never to be taken for granted. Prayers for your family will continue on..."
Actress Tiffani Thiessen, who played Kelly, shared a picture of Diamond and wrote on Instagram, "I am deeply saddened by the news of my old co-star @realdustindiamond passing. Life is extremely fragile and it's something we should never take for granted. God speed Dustin."
Other celebrities remember Dustin Diamond's impact
Actor Todd Bridges filmed an episode of Hollywood Squares with Dustin Diamond in 2003 and remained friends with the actor, tweeting "No matter what people say about him he was my friend." He replied to one user who posted images of the two actors palling around on set, as well as of Diamond and Bridges with the late Erin Moran, with the words, "Wow I remember both of them well." Candyman actor Tony Todd starred with Diamond in the low-budget film Bleeding Hearts in 2015 and shared a breaking news post about the actor's death.
Bestselling author and sports radio personality Matt Jones tweeted, "Saved by the Bell was one of the signature shows of my youth and there is no one my age who does not know Screech," while Glee actor Josh Sussman shared his thoughts on Tiffani Thiessen's post, commenting, "So sad."
Popular podcaster Henry Zebrowsi shared a personal story on Twitter, writing, "Dustin Diamond worked on @Yourprettyface and hung out with my sister and her husband alllll day, he stayed long after he was wrapped because they were such huge fans and he was human and funny the whole time." Later, he added, "He was a pro and happy to be being stupid on set with all of us, it's a shame and a sad thing to see a person die so young."