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Mario Lopez and Dustin Diamond first met on the set of the Saturday morning sitcom “Saved by the Bell” in the late 1980s and worked together for four years on this show, plus another on the spin. -off “College Years”. Lopez was a cool jock named AC Slater, while Diamond played school geek Samuel “Screech” Powers, “but the characters were part of the same group of friends and offscreen, Lopez recounts. Variety, Diamond “was like a funny, goofy little brother.
The news of Diamond’s death from cancer on February 1 came as a huge shock to Lopez, even though he knew his friend and former co-star was ill. (Although Diamond starred in the other “Saved by the Bell” spin-off, “The New Class,” for six years, while Lopez expanded his career to include other actors, hosting and producing other properties. , the two have kept in touch over the years, Lopez says.)
“I just spoke with him a few weeks ago. He hesitated to enter [to the hospital] for a while because he didn’t know if something was going to come out. And I said, ‘Brother, this is silly, you got to go in there and take care of yourself and forget what people say.’ Some people thought his illness was a joke, which is horrible, but the internet is always spilling stories. When all of this was happening I was optimistic about his recovery, but it was obviously too late, ”says Lopez.
“From the moment I found out he was ill until his death, it was incredibly fast. It’s so fresh, it’s incredibly hard to process. And it’s shocking because he was so young; he was only 44 years old. I honestly thought, ‘There’s no way [he won’t make it]. It sucks, but it will bounce back. ”
Diamond was a few years younger than the rest of the main cast of Bayside High students (Lopez himself was born in 1973, while Diamond was born in 1977), and reflecting on his time working with Diamond as a teenager. , Lopez remembers the actor and comedian as “a clumsy kid”.
“We toured a lot during the summer, so it was a lot of juvenile, silly, fun stuff that we got into. I thought he was a funny kid. I liked to have fun and he was like my side kick; But Lopez also remembers that Diamond’s comedy chops were the real deal, even at such a young age. “He was iconic,” Lopez says. “In general, his little looks, his facial expressions and his voice and the way he cracked up, he was just the quintessential fun and lovable nerd.” [character] and it really resonated with the kids. And that was all him; he was kind of like Screech in real life.
About ‘Saved By the Bell’ as a whole, Lopez adds, “He was such an integral part of chemistry and comedy, and I don’t know if it would have worked without him.”
Lopez recently played and produced the first season of Peacock’s sequel to “Saved by the Bell”. Although Diamond did not reprise her role as a guest star, her character was referenced.
“We were really hoping he would make an appearance in Season 2,” Lopez says. “Now I’m really going to push for some kind of tribute. I would love an entire episode dedicated to some of his most iconic moments or something like that. We have a lot of very creative minds who can try to figure this out, but I haven’t had those conversations yet. “
“I contacted his family, and I am at peace knowing that I have always been there for him, I have kept in touch with him. He will continue to be in my prayers, with his family, but he knows he had a friend in me, ”Lopez adds.
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