Dennis Haskins, Principal Belding on Saved by the Bell, has died aged 75

The actor Dennis Haskins from Saved by the Bell has died aged 75.

Best known for his role as Principle Belding on the ‘90’s hit sitcom Saved by the Bell, Dennis Haskins’s agent confirmed the death to ABC news.

"It's a tragic loss. Everyone loved Mr. Belding and those of us who got to know Dennis, loved him even more. He was a great person, and he loved, I mean absolutely LOVED his fans. He always had time for them, no matter what," his agent Jay Schachter said.

Haskins' character was much loved by fans (Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

He starred in Saved by the Bell throughout 1989 to 1993 the four season run and Saved by the Bell: The New Class from 1993 to 2000.

Long before he was standing in Bayside High's hallways barking his signature catchphrase, Haskins was cutting his teeth with a string of small parts in The Dukes of Hazzard back in the late '70s.

But it's the role of Principal Belding that fans will remember him for best - a part he held down for over a decade across Saved by the Bell.

He first took on the role for the show's original run between 1989 and 1993, sharing the screen with Mario Lopez, Tiffani Thiessen, Lark Voorhies and the late Dustin Diamond - spending most of his screen time trying, and largely failing, to rein in his unruly students.

Once the original series wrapped, Haskins stuck around for spin-off Saved by the Bell: The New Class, clocking up a further seven years in the principal's office and putting his famous line, "Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?" to good use all over again.

He returned to the role one more time in 2015, reuniting with several of his old Saved by the Bell co-stars for a sketch on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Speaking to Parade back in 2013, Haskins reflected on what made the show click.

The Saved By The Bell cast reportedly enjoyed fun between takes (Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank)

"When we got to the full-on Saved by the Bell, I knew it was something special because the energy was different, the kids were a little bit older, the dynamic was great between everybody, and we were having a great time," he said.

"We did twenty episodes and we were done. We didn't have a long-term contract. They brought us back when the show went on TBS in the afternoons and kids discovered it there and came back to Saturday morning. That's when the show took off. So it was a gradual process. It was a warm, fuzzy thing. They got to know us and we got to know them. It was a wonderful growing process."

He also described landing what he called the "best job of all" — while the show's young cast eventually grew up and moved on from the fictional school, Haskins got to stick around and welcome a fresh batch of students when The New Class rolled around.

Beyond Bayside High, Haskins racked up credits across a string of other shows and films, including New Girl, Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother and A Million Ways to Die in the West.

He even reprised his principal persona one more time for Khalid's 'Young Dumb & Broke' music video, popping up to deliver an end-of-year announcement over the school intercom.