Actor Dustin Diamond, who famously played Samuel “Screech” Powers on the hit 90’s sitcom Saved By The Bell, died in a Florida hospital on Monday morning. The former child star was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. He was 44.

In January, it was reported that Diamond was taken to a hospital after experiencing severe pain throughout his body. It was then that the former child star found out he had small cell carcinoma, a form of cancer that spreads in the lungs as well as the prostate or gastrointestinal tract. According to Diamond’s reps, his health deteriorated steadily last week and he was eventually taken off a breathing machine.

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Diamond’s career spans over three decades. In 1988, an 11-year-old Diamond was cast as Screech on the pilot of Good Morning, Miss Bliss. He played the loveable but awkward Bayside High Student for 13 episodes. After just one season, the Disney Channel sitcom was retooled as Saved by the Bell. Diamond went on to play Screech for the entirety of Saved by the Bell’s four seasons run (1989-1993). Due to the immense popularity of his character, he went on to reprise his role as Screech once again for the follow-up series Saved by the Bell: The College Years and Saved by the Bell: New Class. Fans of the show will forever remember his character’s friendship with Zach Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and efforts to gain the attention of Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies).

In the latter half of his career, Diamond formed an alternative rock band called Salty The Pocketknife and appeared in reality shows such as Big Brother, Celebrity Fit Club, The Weakest Link, and Celebrity Boxing 2. In 2006, Diamond made headlines for directing and releasing his sex-tape. Three years later, he was in the news once again for making critical remarks against many of his Saved By The Bell co-stars in his controversial tell-all book, Behind the Bell. When interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2013 Diamond stated that his book was ghostwritten and many of the stories were untrue.

Over the past decade, Diamond continued to find himself in controversies. In December 2015, he served three months in prison for stabbing a man with a switchblade knife. He was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct. As a result of his controversial behavior, Diamond was the only main Saved by the Bell cast member who wasn’t asked to return in the series reboot that premiered on Peacock this past November.

Following his death, Dustin's talent agency, Roger Paul Inc., released a statement that touched on their client’s legacy and complicated history. "He's had a history of mishaps, of unfortunate events. We want the public to understand that he was not intentionally malevolent. He--much like the rest of those who act out and behave poorly—had undergone a great deal of turmoil and heartache. His actions, though rebukable, stemmed from loss and the lack of knowledge on how to process that pain properly.”

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Source: IGN