Call him a diamond in the rough, but there is no doubt that the actor who played Screech on \u201cSaved by the Bell\u201d was multifaceted. \u2026<\/b>
\nCall him a diamond in the rough, but there is no doubt that the actor who played Screech on \u201cSaved by the Bell\u201d was multifaceted. TV star Dustin Diamond died Monday after battling stage 4 cancer, which he just announced last month. He was 44 years old. He was best known for his role as the beloved nerd Samuel \u201cScreech\u201d Powers \u2014 a frequently beleaguered brainiac. Screech gave loving representation to science kids \u2014 long before their cool counterparts dressed up as Elon Musk for Halloween \u2014 for nearly 13 years, through three incarnations of the show. He was shocked to have not been included in the \u201cSaved by the Bell\u201d revival that began airing last year on Peacock. The snub is said to have been handed down due to the negative notoriety that seemed to dog Diamond. In fact, according to the Sun, he credited the underbelly of fame as being the reason why he put off seeing a doctor about a large lump on his neck \u2014 which proved to be a deadly form of cancer. As per his dear friend, insurance mogul Dan Block, Diamond kept the unsightly bulge a secret because \u201che was afraid of someone taking pictures of it and posting it online.\u201d And who can blame the real-life Screech? Trolls had already ragged him for having a \u201cpunchable face.\u201d His dying wishes were to meet Justin Chancellor, the bass player from Tool (who inspired Diamond\u2019s virtuosity in a metal band called Salty the Pocketknife), as reported by Page Six, and to visit the \u201cStar Wars\u201d exhibit in Florida\u2019s Disney World. His final desires may not have come to fruition, but, as evidenced through the years, Dustin \u201cScreech\u201d Diamond lived a full and wild life. Here are some highlights. Looking to emulate the Paris Hiltons of the world, Diamond released a skin flick with the unsavory title of \u201cScreech: Saved by the Smell.\u201d The idea was to make bank by showing yet another star doing the dirty. Just one problem: As Diamond would admit to Oprah Winfrey on the \u201cOprah: Where Are They Now?\u201d show, he is not the man that he was portrayed as being in the 2006 release. \u201cIt\u2019s my face but nothing else,\u201d he said of the dirty movie that was designed to earn him millions. Instead, it earned him scorn \u2014 first, for making the flick, then for not being fully in it \u2014 and damaged his career. Looking back, he said, \u201cI realize that was really dumb.\u201d The sex tape stunt did not help Diamond\u2019s career. But when the mortgage is overdue and the lender is at your door, well, a man has to do what a man has to do \u2014 and Diamond had to sell T-shirts. During a 2006 appearance on \u201cThe Howard Stern Show,\u201d he implored audience members to purchase shirts from him for $15 each. The tees depicted Diamond standing in front of a rundown house. Proceeds were supposed to help cover the $250,000 he owed. No word on how that shook out. As noted by Page Six in 2014, \u201cDustin Diamond is in detention.\u201d The TV star was arrested in Wisconsin after he allegedly stabbed a man during a bar brawl. The supposed victim was bleeding from near his armpit, and Diamond\u2019s girlfriend supposedly suffered a bloody nose. Diamond himself was busted for possessing a switchblade and for reckless endangerment. The actor pleaded innocent, but the judge sentenced him to 120 days in jail. He began his sentence in 2016, but ended up back behind bars after violating parole. It could have been called \u201cScreech\u2019s Gambit,\u201d but instead, this tutorial had a more straight-forward title: \u201cDustin Diamond Teaches Chess.\u201d Screech was a fan of the game on the show, but in real life, so was Diamond: He supposedly maintained a library of 3,000 chess books and owned more than 100 chess sets. The video is described as \u201cso entertaining, it destroys the notion that chess is a boring game.\u201d Having once been crowned Celebrity Boxing champion, Diamond was revved up to square off against Chris \u201cBagel Boss Guy\u201d Morgan. The salty merchant made a name for himself after trashing women and getting knocked around by a witness to the tirade. Morgan told Page Six that he was \u201cpretty confident\u201d about wearing out the actor. Diamond played it strong and silent, but he never got a chance to prove his mettle. The Bagel Boss was a bust: Morgan backed out before the opening bell. Insurance King big-wheel Block did one better than sending flowers to an ailing pal. While he was battling cancer, Block arranged to have the NASCAR vehicle driven by Josh Bilicki be adorned with the face of Diamond and a get-well message printed upon the door. But Diamond died before the race went off. There\u2019s no word as to whether or not the race car will be retooled into a speeding memorial, but Block\u2019s heart was clearly in the right place, and Diamond was surely touched by the sentiment.<\/p>\n