Saved by the Bell: Where Are They Now?
[ Thursday, May 11 ] @ 3:58 am Filed under:
tv,
wtf
By: Corey
Just about everyone my age has seen Saved by the Bell, and because it was a show my generation grew up with, Id wager a bet that more than half of us have probably seen every episode of the cheesy Saturday morning television show (if not, dont worry, there is no shortage of SBTB reruns). But whatever happened to the actors that played the classic characters of Bayside High? I got curious and decided to find out.
Zack Morris - Mark-Paul Gosselaar
By far the most popular character and actor of the bunch, Mark Paul Gosselaar has also been the most successful alumnus of the show. After a slew of made for tv movies (one where he notably
date raped Candice Cameron from
Full House fame) In 1998, Gosselaar starred in the mediocre feature film
Dead Man On Campus, where he played a character comparable to Zack Morris with a drinking problem. After that it was a few more tv guest appearances and movies before landing a recurring role on
NYPD Blue. After that was cancelled, Gosselaar gained another recurring character last year on Commander in Chief, which, unfortunately for him, is now teetering on cancellation. Tough luck, Preppy. Mark-Paul most recently saw the birth of his second child earlier this week. Heres a fun fact: he met his wife on the set of
Saved by the Bell: The College Years.
AC Slater Mario Lopez
If youre enough of a pop culture historian to know that AC stands for Alfred Clifford, then you probably also know Mario fell victim to the vicious cycle of made for tv movies and defunct television series such as
Pacific Blue, or numerous shows on Animal Planet. Two years ago, he married the mega-hot Ali Landry, the supermodel most people know as the Doritos chick, but the marriage lasted for only a month before Landry had it annulled. According to
IMDB.com, Landry left him because he was caught cheating on her at his bachelor party, as well as after they were married. No Doritos for you, Mario.
Kelly Kapowski Tiffani-Amber Thiessen
Thiessen was easily the cutest of the SBTB bunch, and as such, scored the part of Valerie on Beverly Hills 90210. In 1999, her boyfriend, actor David Strickland of
Suddenly Susan committed suicide. Last year she directed a short film called
Just Pray, which screened and placed at several film festivals. She also married actor Brady Smith in the same year. Thiessen continues to be hot.
Screech Powers Dustin Diamond
Sadly, the years have not been kind to Dustin. After SBTB ended, Diamond stayed on for
Saved by the Bell: The New Class, an undisputed bomb. Around this time, he also dated Candice Cameron. For some time, websites occassionally sprung up to harass Diamond and his character Screech, portraying him as a homosexual in a much less than flattering light. In 2001, he produced an instructional video
Dustin Diamond Teaches Chess. His most notable appearances have been roles where he plays himself, such as in
Celebrity Boxing,
Made, and
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. He currently works as a raunchy standup comedian.
Jessie Spano Elizabeth Berkley
Elizabeth Berkley starred in
Showgirls in 1995 and was subsequently de facto shunned by Hollywood, being relegated to minor roles in mediocre made for tv or independent films. I have it on good authority that this has caused her to once again become addicted to caffeine pills. Most recently she was in an Off-Broadway production of HurlyBurly, which opened 11 months ago.
Lisa Turtle Lark Voohries
After SBTB, Voohries dated, believe it or not, Martin Lawrence. The only other noteworthy achievements the former Lisa Turtle achieved were a guest role on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and a secondary role in the 2001 stoner movie
How High. Ultimately, it appears Lark Voohries also fell victim to the post-SBTB success curse. Fun fact: Shes a Jehovahs Witness. Yeah.
Tori Scott Leanna Creel
No one cares about Tori.
Mr. Belding Dennis Haskins
Oh how the mighty have fallen. First off, Mr. Belding has put on a considerable amount of weight. Im also led to believe he is an alcoholic:
here is every movie and
every picture on collegehumor.com with Mr. Belding. Most of them have to either do with him doing shots, hanging out with college students, or drunkenly singing karaoke. Simply amazing. I remember when Mario Lopez, Dustin Diamond, and Dennis Haskins came to Ohio State a couple of years ago and Haskins was adamant that we do something to improve the world around us and better our fellow man. Apparently, bettering your fellow man involves
butchering Tom Jones.
With the exception of preppy boy Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, the SBTB alumni have not been able to achieve any lasting mainstream success what success they do garner will always be overshadowed by Oh you were so and so on
Saved by the Bell.
Solution: Put Saved by the Bell back in production with the original cast and change the setting from a high school to an office. I tell ya, Im sitting on a veritable goldmine with this baby.