Mr. Belding talks to La Salle about how important hard work and motivation is for success in school and beyond

By Jen Colletta
Collegian Editor
April 12, 2006

Hundreds of students stood in line outside the Dan Rodden Theatre Friday night, anxiously awaiting the arrival of television star, Dennis Haskins. Haskins, who is best remembered by our generation as having played the tough, yet hysterical, Mr. Belding on the cult classic Saved By the Bell, has been touring colleges across the country for the past year, spreading his message of motivation to students.

The Executive Board of the Resident Student Association (RSA) was responsible for bringing Haskins to La Salle’s campus.

“We heard he does college tours, we got a hold of his agent and we just took it from there,” sophomore Erin Salvatore RSA Director of Area Relations, said. “A few phone calls and e-mails later, we were booking him.”

Haskins’ show was previewed by a short video, detailing his television and film work over the past few decades. Although Haskins is mostly associated with the character of Mr. Belding, he has performed in dozens of other shows, such as 7th Heaven and The West Wing.

Once the film was over and Salvatore began her introduction of Haskins, chants of “Belding” could be heard from around the theater. As he walked onto stage, the crowd of nearly 320 students burst into screams and applause.

Haskins kicked off his show with an interview by RSA National Communications Coordinator, junior Ed Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick walked Haskins through all of the steps of his life, from his first performance in Pinocchio in the sixth grade to what he’s been doing since Saved By the Bell. Haskins, a native of Chattanooga, Tenn. emphasized that the only way he was able to survive in the acting business was through hard work and dedication.

“The business scared me,” Haskins said. “I didn’t want to try it and have it not work out.”

Haskins pushed himself to audition after audition, despite his fears. After performing in several smaller programs, Haskins’ agent contacted him about an audition for a new show called Good Morning, Miss Bliss.

“Some chances just pop up in front of you, but there are other experiences that you have to just build on and connect the dots,” Haskins said.

After five auditions, Haskins was chosen for the role of the show’s principal, Mr. Belding. The program, which focused more on the adult characters on the show, was only on the air for about 13 episodes before it was canceled. Days after Haskins received the news, however, he learned that he and several of his co-workers were being asked to sign on to a similar project, entitled Saved By the Bell.

Saved By the Bell spotlighted the teenagers on the show, which Haskins believes made it an instant success. Haskins said he realized what a hit the show was going to be when fans were literally tearing at the teens’ clothes when they were on a mall tour.

The show survived four seasons, before the characters graduated high school in 1993. The show again underwent a transition to become the short-lived Saved By the Bell: The College Years. Although the show still had a faithful following,

Haskins said that one of the reasons it was not that successful was that the themes and situations that college students face are vastly different than those that arise during the high school years.

“We hit people with a feather, not with a hammer,” Haskins said. That same year, a whole new cast of characters was brought on to recreate the high school situation. Saved By the Bell: The New Class premiered in 1993 and, although it was nowhere near as big of a hit as the original, it ran for seven years.

After Haskins detailed the history of the show for which he is so well-known and his personal struggles in the business, he invited several La Salle students up to the stage to compete in a Saved By the Bell trivia session. The winner, who had to answer three correct questions about the show, received an autographed DVD set of the fifth season of the show. Haskins closed the program with a short question and answer session.

Haskins received a standing ovation from the rowdy crowd, who scrambled out of the theater to wait in line for autographs. The line snaked from the theater door all the way down to the entrance to the food court. Although many students had to wait up to two hours to meet Haskins, they did so patiently and orderly.

“I think it’s great that the students waited so long and were so great about it,” Haskins said.

Haskins waited until each student had shaken his hand, gotten his autograph and taken a picture with him before he left campus.

“I get to go to schools and reminisce with a generation of kids who grew up watching the show. I know that this show was the show to this generation of kids. They’re not kids anymore, but to me they are,” Haskins said. “It’s really fun for me. Everybody has a smile on their face. They have something to say. They give me a hug. How bad is that? It’s a really great thing.”

Once Haskins signed the last autograph, he even scrawled his John Hancock on one of the Affirmation signs hanging in the hallway outside of the theater.
Haskins said that purpose of his college tours is to encourage students never to give up on something that they want.

“It’s all based in a lot of the truths that we all know. I’d like to help people to not make some of the same mistakes that I’ve made,” Haskins said. “And I want to let them know that if they do make mistakes, it’s okay and to learn from those mistakes and go forward. But I really just want to encourage them to follow their dreams.”
So how did students respond to his visit?

“From the second he went on stage, to the standing ovation at the end, to the masses of people waiting in line for an autograph, I think he was very well-received,” Salvatore said.

“As an actor you do your best to bring as much of yourself as you can to the part,” Haskins said. “I played the guy, but I’m not the guy. I loved hanging out with the students at Bayside, though, and I love hanging out with the students here at La Salle.”

collettaj1@lasalle.edu