WOW I know how hard this is friends I lost my mother to this horrible illness also, and it’s never fun to watch a love one go through this stage in their lives, and lose them. My heart, and deepest condolences to the family of Dustin Diamond who passed away at the age of 44 from Stage 4 Lung Cancer.
He was best known as playing the goofy sidekick to Zack Morris on the tv hit comedy show from the 90s called “SAVED by the BELL.” On the show he played the goofy “Screetch” which was the nerd with a heart, and comedy relief of the show. Well one of the few which were as the show was a “Comedy show” afterall.
Sadly in his career he wasn’t able to really shake off the Screetch role, and got typecast in it, and was not able to really break out in anything else as he got older. Diamond became a reality show mainstay appearing in the fifth season of “Celebrity Fit Club,” “The Weakest Link” and “Celebrity Boxing 2.”
He went into stand up comedy where he did ok for a while but wasn’t very well liked by some in the industry as he was known by some for stealing jokes, and material from others.
Overall I can’t say that he’s alone in that as a lot of “Comedians” who do stand up steal jokes from each other but people got extra mad at him for it, and over the years people really did bully him a ton, and maybe this is was due to what gave him somewhat of a bad rep as he would often lash out at his “haters.” At one point just to pay the bills he turned to porn! He made a sex tape in 2006, but later told Oprah Winfrey he used a body double.
I can confirm that I’ve never seen those and never will. But I know it’s out there sadly.
Diamond’s camp announced the diagnosis just three weeks earlier. Diamond’s longtime representative Roger Paul called the illness a “brutal, relentless form of malignant cancer” via a statement shared with HuffPost.
“In that time, it managed to spread rapidly throughout his system; the only mercy it exhibited was its sharp and swift execution,” Paul added. “Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful.”
Reports the specific cancer was stage 4 lung cancer. Diamond rose to fame in 1989 as the lovably nerdy Screech when “Saved by the Bell” premiered on NBC as a Saturday morning sitcom.
He went on to play the character in various series spinoffs including “Saved by the Bell: The College Years,” and “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” but not the recent reboot on Peacock due to his bad health he wasn’t part of that new spinoff. He also was a house member in the 12th season of “Celebrity Big Brother,” according to The Associated Press.
But Diamond had his struggles in real life: He was sued several times for delinquent taxes and in foreclosure proceedings for missing mortgage payments. In 2015, Diamond was sentenced to serve four months in jail for his part in a Wisconsin barroom stabbing.
In his statement, Paul described Diamond as “a humorous and high-spirited individual whose greatest passion was to make others laugh. He was able to sense and feel other peoples’ emotions to such a length that he was able to feel them too a strength and a flaw, all in one.”
Diamond was survived by his father and his girlfriend, Tash Jules, according to his rep.
Rest in Peace little buddy…
