Actor Dennis Haskins was a staple at the now-shuttered Dimples karaoke bar in Burbank — so much so that many patrons thought he owned it. He didn’t, but regulars, karaoke lovers and fans have fond memories of him there.
Haskins — best known for playing Principal Richard Belding on the classic ‘90s teen sitcom “Saved by the Bell” — died Sunday night, after an eight-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, among other health issues. Then came an outpouring of recollections, anecdotes and tributes, from all corners of the internet.
“The people, just on social media, that have had a brush with Dennis — a picture, a story — the amount of people, it seems like it’s physically impossible to have interacted and had an experience with so many different people,” said Dale Wade Davis, a former regular at the venue.
Dimples, billed as “America’s first karaoke bar,” closed in 2015 after 33 years. In a tribute to the beloved bar, The Times’ Chad Garland wrote in 2014:
It’s a place where even celebrities can be regular people, said Dennis Haskins, who is perhaps best known as Mr. Belding, the principal of Bayside High in TV’s “Saved by the Bell.” He said he’s been coming to the bar for 14 years.
“It’s my Cheers,” Haskins said, referring to the fictional Boston bar from the 1980s sitcom. “I’m like Norm.”
The Times spoke with former Dimples-goers about their memories of Haskins. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Dennis Haskins, a.k.a. Mr. Belding on “Saved by the Bell,” was a staple at the Burbank karaoke bar Dimples for 14 years.
(Gary Null / NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Dale Wade Davis; 57; movie producer / former sports anchor and actor; splits time between Texas and Studio City
We would meet there usually every Wednesday, and I didn’t know who Dennis was. I was familiar with “Saved by the Bell,” but I didn’t really watch it. So Dennis was just Dennis to me initially. But I saw how people treated him and the reaction he had on people. He was always very gregarious. It’s a cliche: He lit up a room, but he really was everybody’s best friend.
We called him “America’s principal.” He loved that, though he didn’t live in the past. He was a dreamer; he was looking forward. He was like a young actor, excited about the next gig. He was not living in the past, as much as he enjoyed being Mr. Belding.
I had had a kidney transplant from Phillip Palmer, who’s the morning anchor at ABC7, and it was a really big story back in 2007. Like, it was on “Good Morning America,” CNN, just the whole thing. Dennis was always right there. He was at the hospital for my surgery. My friends did [a benefit] and he showed up to that.
After this, I wanted to do something to give back and so I created a celebrity poker tournament. Dennis was the first celebrity that really was just excited about it and really showed up. By the end, Jack Black showed up every year, we had A-listers. But Dennis was the one that really helped me get that off the ground initially.
Did he have a favorite song to sing?
He did sing Sinatra a lot. I would say that was his staple.
“We called him ‘America’s principal.’ He loved that, though he didn’t live in the past,” producer Dale Wade Davis said of Dennis Haskins.
(Tom Briglia / FilmMagic / Getty Images)
Larry Bagby; 52; actor/musician; grew up in Thousand Oaks
Bagby was in “A Kicking Weasel,” the third episode of “Saved by the Bell: The New Class.”
Dennis was awesome. We just hit it off; we both love music. I was doing some original recordings. I had a song called “Bus Driver” that I wanted some kids, my nieces, to sing on, and my family. And Dennis came into the studio and sang on it as well. He just did some backup vocals for me, which was so cool. He drove all the way out to Simi Valley. He’s just always up for a good time.
I was the MC at a show I did at the Hotel Café and he took time to write notes. I found this paper of notes that he had written for me about my band. Because I think he managed some bands before he did his acting thing. He just gave me great notes, as an entertainer, like, “Keep it moving, don’t talk too much, have the band playing music always.”
He was the kind of guy that showed up when you most needed.
Did he have a favorite song to sing?
“Great Balls of Fire,” I want to say, was maybe one. I feel like he did “Johnny B. Goode.” We probably sang that together a few times too. I feel like he really liked the Beatles. We all loved the Beatles.
Ryan Adam Wells; 41; singer-songwriter; used to live in L.A., now resides in Houston
When we started going there, I had never seen “Saved by the Bell.” I didn’t grow up with it. I was a “Boy Meets World” kid. … But I was there with my friend Loren, and he pointed it out to me, and he recognized him from the show. And I absolutely did not.
I had already said hello to the guy and shook his hand because we were waiting for a drink at the bar, and he’s really nice. And then my friend Heath — we had lunch with him the next day — he goes, “Oh yeah, Dennis is there every single day. He’s always there. That’s a Los Angeles fixture. It’s like running into Ron Jeremy on Hollywood Boulevard.”
Loren and I were talking last night, trying to remember what songs he would always do. We both remembered “Sweet Caroline,” but then the most common thing he would do is duets. He would duet with the staff at Dimples.
The two songs we were able to remember for sure hearing were “I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher and “Picture” by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. The reason we remembered “Picture” is because there’s cuss words in there, and I remember Loren being like, “Oh, Mr. Belding! Oh my!”
Scott Groves; 47; former loan officer in the Burbank area
This guy was just a stellar human being, man. He would talk to anybody. He kind of embraced his typecasting as Principal Belding, and was just always nice to people, always buying people a drink, just a jovial, happy, relatable guy. I probably went to Dimples 30 times in my 20s, which would have been in the 2000s, and I’m pretty sure he was there like 28 out of the 30 times, just singing and having a good time and socializing with people.
Did he have a favorite song to sing?
He was game for pretty much anything. You could ask him to do the male singing part or the female singing part of Meat Loaf‘s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” or you could ask him to sing some ’80s love song or some ’90s rock ballad.
Kevin Centazzo; 55; consignment store owner and former writer/actor; lived in Burbank’s Cabrini Villas, now resides in Bristol, R.I.
Mr. Belding — Dennis — was a regular there. And when he was there, he was a regular guy. We knew who he was, of course. And if you wanted to do a duet with him, he’d be happy to do it. And if he got his chance, his go-to song every time was “Play That Funky Music.” And he gave it everything he had. He really got into it. He really loved it. That was his song. If someone else did it, and didn’t know it was his song, he’d be upset that somebody took his song.
When he passed away, I got a pang of sadness. He was a principal to every kid in whatever decade it was, the ’80s, ’90s. And when I met him, he was just one of the Dimples’ crew.
More to Read
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: latimes.com
