Actors - Dustin Diamond

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	Actors - Dustin Diamond

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

Early life

Diamond attended Daniel Chapel A&E Zion Elementary in Anaheim, California. His first job involved working as a living mannequin in a department store display. He later auditioned for the lead role in the cult classic feature film Cool as Ice
, but was rejected because he was too young at the time, and he was limited to appearing in scenes that were cut from the movie anyway. He also appeared briefly in Big Top Pee-wee
.

Screech on 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.

Screech 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.

Screech's robot Kevin is also occasionally shown in some episodes, and Screech 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 a Native American 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 shows most of the cast transplanted into not only the same college, but also the same college dormitory. The most notable of Screech's actions in this series involve him stealing a canister 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. As fate would have it, Screech accidentally took a can of helium by mistake, and the only thing that got high was the student's voices.

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. Its also been reported that the Ultimate Warrior has trained him for said events. He also has released a video, entitled Dustin Diamond Teaches Chess, where he shows various techniques for becoming a better chess player.

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