Dustin Diamond, who played the role of Screech on the popular 1990s high school comedy Saved by the Bell died on Monday after a recent cancer diagnosis. Diamond, 44, was diagnosed with stage 4 small cell carcinoma - commonly referred to as lung cancer – three weeks ago.
He had recently started chemotherapy treatment but his health declined sharply in recent days and he was taken off breathing machines as he was being moved into hospice care. He died on Monday morning in a Florida hospital.
"In that time, it managed to spread rapidly throughout his system; the only mercy it exhibited was its sharp and swift execution," the actor's agent, Roger Paul, said in a statement. "Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful."
Diamond's Sex Tape - 'Saved by the Smell'
After playing the role of Screech on the popular NBC sitcom, Diamond went on to feature on the show's several spinoffs before a brief stint in a variety of films and other TV shows.
After experiencing financial troubles due to lack of work, Diamond released a sex tape titled Screeched — Saved by the Smell in 2006, in which he appears to have sex with two women in a hotel room. Diamond later revealed to Oprah Winfrey that he made the explicit video in order to make a quick buck after he learned that Paris Hilton supposedly made $14 million from her own sex tape.
Diamond Used a Prosthetic Penis, Stunt Double
He also admitted that he had used a prosthetic penis and a stunt person on camera and that he did not actually appear nude on screen.
"I put the thing together. I got a stunt wang. I'm not an idiot. I'm not going to really put myself out there. So I got a stunt person to come in," he said in a 2014 interview with The Daily Beast. "And I thought, what if this thing makes $3 million? That's nothing to scoff at. But after that people looked at me dirty, like, 'He does porn.' No, I don't! I faked that one at a chance for millions."
In the wake of the actor/comedian's demise social media users are now sharing links to the full 51-minute sex tape (on a pornographic website) featuring Diamond to "honor his memory."
