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Famous Like Me > Actor > D > Dustin Diamond

Profile of Dustin Diamond on Famous Like Me

 
Name: Dustin Diamond  
   
Also Know As:
   
Date of Birth: 7th January 1977
   
Place of Birth: San Jose, California, USA
   
Profession: Actor
 
 
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Dustin Diamond (right), with co-star Dennis Haskins.

Dustin Neil Diamond (born January 7, 1977 in San Jose, California), is an American actor who gained fame during the 1990s as Screech Powers, a nerdy character in the popular sitcom, Saved by the Bell.


Early Life

Diamond attended Zion Lutheran School in Anaheim. His first job involved working as a living mannequin in a department store display. He later auditioned for the lead role in cult classic The Monster Squad, but was rejected because he was too young at the time, and was limited to appearing in scenes that were cut from the movie anyway. He also appeared briefly in Big Top Pee-wee as well.

Screech and Saved by the Bell

Of course, his most pivotal role, and that which would become irreversably tied to his image, was the role of Samuel "Screech" Powers on Saved by the Bell, a role he played for close to thirteen years, from its beginning as Good Morning, Miss Bliss, to its ultimate incarnation as Saved by the Bell: The New Class. It could be argued that, with the possible exception of Mr. Belding, no one character is as closely identified with the show as Screech.

He was originally supposed to have an extremely high pitched, almost squealing voice, but instead it was decided that the character would possess a quirky, although not so over the top tone instead. The show originally aired on The Disney Channel under the Miss Bliss title (now referred to as Saved By the Bell: The Junior High Years), featuring Hayley Mills in the titular role. After a year, the show was brought over to NBC and repackaged into its more well-known incarnation. Of all the show's characters, only Screech, Zack Morris, Lisa Turtle, and Mr. Belding made the jump from JFK Junior High in Indiana, to Bayside High in Palisades, California, although the incredibly abrupt change in venue was never acknowledged, much less explained.

Screech was more often than not a pivotal figure in the schemes and pranks of the Bayside gang, from pretending to be an alien (which almost resulted in his dissection at the hands of the government), to getting kidnapped by rival high school Valley in the ongoing inter-school "Prank War", and in one instance even winning the "Miss Bayside" Pageant, in spite of an impressive drum solo performed by A.C. Slater. His parents, who were extremely obsessed with all things Elvis-related, were never seen, aside from one episode where his mother leaves him in charge of the house as his parents went on a vacation to Graceland, which naturally led to an episode spanning dilemma involving a broken Elvis statue.

In the episodes his robot Kevin is also occasionally shown, and he himself makes numerous references to his insect and animal collections. He has also been shown dressing up as (and dancing like) Michael Jackson, impersonating Zack on numerous occasions, and stereotypically portraying an Indian for Zack's school project. He claims to be descended from the "Great Italian lover and spy", Luigi Powerelli, making it clear that he is part Italian.

In the final episode of the regular series, he willingly relinquishes the title of valedictorian to Jessie Spano, knowing how much it meant to her.

Continuing the series into college, Saved by the Bell: The College Years again inexplicably shows most of the cast transplanted into not only the same college, but also the same college dorm. The most notable of Screech's actions in this series involve him stealing a cannister of nitrous oxide from the chemistry lab, in order to gain acceptance from other students attending a rave, after Slater belittles him about being a screwup.

After the end of that series, he quickly returned to Bayside High as Mr. Belding's assistant in The New Class episodes, remaining with the show until its cancellation.

Appearances After Saved by the Bell

Diamond has kept busy professionally since the popular teenager sitcom was cancelled: He has been featured on a number of TV shows, including The Weakest Link, and has participated in a celebrity boxing contest, and professional wrestling matches. He also has released a video, entitled Dustin Diamond Teaches Chess, where he shows various techniques for becoming a better chess player.

Diamond made a notable cameo appearance as himself in the movie Made, where Vince Vaughn's character incredulously questions a doorman at a club as to why "Screech" was allowed into the venue while he was not. He also appeared in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star as himself as well. He is only shown in a few scenes - Dickie is hanging out with a bunch of former child stars in a apartment and Dickie's sitcom rehearsal.

His appearance on The Opie and Anthony Show is generally considered to have contributed to one of the worst episodes of that show ever.

DustinDiamond.com and Other Websites

In 2003, Diamond alienated some of his fanbase by filing a lawsuit for ownership of http://www.DustinDiamond.com, a parody website owned by Max Goldberg which largely promoted the idea that Screech Powers was the constant victim of homosexual rape by any and all other characters. He lost that case, although the website has apparently shut down nonetheless, as a result of its forums being overloaded with spam bots, as well as Goldbergs new concentration placed towards his then-upcoming site, You're The Man Now Dog

Other sites have popped up since the verdict, including DustinDiamondLove, a forum site formed in 2005 by Maxwell Nerdstrom (unrelated to Goldberg). The new site largely features the same content.

Salty the Pocketknife

Diamond is currently a stand-up comedian and bass player in the band Salty The Pocketknife. However, harassment perpetrated by DustinDiamond.com contributors led to the closing of the band's forum section on their website, and at some time afterward the website was hacked by a group calling itself "The Iranian Black Hat", and has not as yet been repaired. There have also been documented cases of band members being harassed on AOL Instant Messenger as well, with references to Screech invariably making their way into the conversations. The future of the band is unknown.

Currently Diamond is being sued by Salty the Pocketknife's former label. Diamond, 28, who lives in Milwaukee, is being sued in Montgomery County Court by Ambler music producer/distributor Sonance Entertainment. The claim: Diamond - bassist in a band called Salty the Pocketknife - did nothing to promote the band's CD and left Sonance on the hook for CDs. Among the choice cuts are such classics as "Red Panties 145," "Magic Garbage Ride" and the burning track "Pour No Gasoline."

Sonance, headed by Rick Frimmer and represented in court by Lawrence Pauker of Norristown, seeks in excess of $200,000.

The suit says Sonance arranged a promotional trip to New York, but Diamond "failed to wake up for scheduled radio interviews, complained about his picture not being on a billboard in Times Square, and spent almost a full afternoon auditioning for a television part that had nothing to do with the Salty CD." The suit also alleges that although Diamond had promised to promote the CD on Jay Leno's and Howard Stern's shows, he never reached out to Leno's people and Stern's crew turned him down.

Daniel W. McCartney of Norristown, representing Diamond, said Diamond "fulfilled his obligations."

Personal Life

While working on Saved by the Bell, members of the cast regularly dated each other. Diamond, who was considerably younger than the rest of the cast, was not a part of this, although he has claimed to have dated many of the show's extras. He was also said to have had a relationship of some sort with Full House's Candace Cameron.

In the mid-1990s, Diamond was romantically involved with then-MTV VJ Kennedy.

He has plans to write a book about his experience growing up as a child actor. Rumors have circulated that he is the brother of Beastie Boy Michael Diamond, aka Mike D, as well as that he is the son of singer Neil Diamond, both of which are untrue. Oddly enough, his real father, Mark Diamond did in fact make an appearance in a Saved by the Bell episode, where he played a science teacher who threatened to "...experiment with their grades."

Dustin operates a charity known as the Dustin Diamond Foundation, which supports organizations which specialize in child care. This foundation was created after the miscarriage of his first child.

Diamond currently resides in southeastern Wisconsin with his wife Jennifer, where stories of his harassment by Screech "fans" persist.

The "Blue Oyster," a bar in southeastern Wisconsin, offers a popular mixed drink called the "Screech teabag" which includes 4 shots of vodka and cherry HI-C.

Filmography

  1. 13th Grade (2004)... Corey
  2. Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)... Himself
  3. Big Fat Liar (2002)... Wolf Party Guest
  4. Jane White Is Sick & Twisted (2002)... Simone
  5. Made (2001)... Himself
  6. Longshot (2000)... Waiter
  7. Highway Robbery (1998) (TV movie)... The Booty Burglar
  8. Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993) (TV series)... Samuel "Screech" Powers (1994-2000)
  9. Screech on Life (1994) (TV series)... Samuel "Screech" Powers
  10. Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas (1994) (TV)... Samuel "Screech" Powers
  11. Teen Wolf 4: Stiles in Action (1994).... Guy eating cheese
  12. Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993) (TV series)... Samuel "Screech" Powers
  13. Taken from Behind (1992)... Kurt Steinberg
  14. Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style (1992) (TV)... Samuel "Screech" Powers
  15. Saved by the Bell (1989) (TV series)... Samuel "Screech" Powers
  16. She's Out of Control (1989)... Kid on the Beach
  17. Big Top Pee-wee (1988)... Child - Deke
  18. Purple People Eater (1988)... Big Z
  19. Good Morning, Miss Bliss (a.k.a. Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years (1987) (TV series)... Samuel "Screech" Powers
  20. Speaker of the Mouse (1988)... Thaddeus Maximus, Jr.
  21. Charles In Charge (1988)....Charles "Nut Buddy"
  22. The Price of Life (1987)... Young Stiles

External link

  • Dustin Diamond Love-A forum site dedicated to homosexual fantasies concerning Screech and other members of Saved By the Bell, formed shortly before the closing of DustinDiamond.com.
  • trustthedust.com
  • Review of Dustin Diamond's band, Salty The Pocketknife
  • Audio interview with Dustin Diamond: Wednesday, 25 May 2005
  • Dustin Diamond at the Internet Movie Database
  • Article about Dustin Diamond's unsuccessful attempt to shut down dustindiamond.com
  • Court Decision- Dustin N. Diamond vs. Max Goldberg decision (pdf)
  • NNDB profile
  • Amiannoying.com Profile
  • The Dustin Diamond Foundation

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Dustin Diamond