In the early '90s, Saved By The Bell was a defining sit-com for teenagers who appreciated its often outrageous approach to real issues. The series followed several students at Bayside High including charming Zack Morris, sporty A.C. Slater, fiery Jessie Spano, and preppy Kelly Kapowski as they tackled jobs, love, friendship, and surviving class under Principal Belding.
Though it only ran for four seasons on NBC from 1989 until 1992, its humor, topics, and fashion sense have endured the test of time. As NBC hammers out the final casting choices for its Saved by the Bell reboot, take a look at these 10 things you didn't know about the cast of the iconic show.
10 THEY ALL DATED EACH OTHER OFF SCREEN
It probably won't surprise fans to know that all the ridiculously good looking teens on the series were dating on the set. Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack Morris) once stated that at one point everyone had dated each other, and it was "incestuous."
The off-screen romances tended to coincide with the on-screen ones, so if Zack and Kelly were in some more romantic episodes on the show, it was translating off the set with Tiffani Theissen and Mark-Paul Gosselaar. It's not really surprising since they were all going through puberty together!
9 MARK-PAUL GOSSELAAR MODELED ZACK MORRIS ON FERRIS BUELLER
If fans think that Zack's habit of ditching school, pulling pranks, and breaking the fourth wall to address the audience is reminiscent of another '80s teen, they'd be correct. Mark-Paul Gosselaar modeled Zack's behavior off Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller.
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Gosselaar once mentioned that fans attribute the stopping time to address the audience trope as something he invented himself, but he readily admits all credit must go to the master himself, Ferris Bueller.
8 DUSTIN DIAMOND WROTE A SCATHING TELL-ALL BOOK ABOUT THE SHOW
Dustin Diamond may have played awkward and insecure Screech on several incarnations of Saved By The Bell, but he sure capitalized off of his newfound fame. In 2009 he wrote a tabloid-worthy tell-all book entitled Behind The Bell, which revealed all of the dirty secrets behind the series.
Most of the cast has claimed the book is slanderous, and even Diamond himself had to reveal during an interview with former cast member Mario Lopez (who played A.C. Slater) that it was mostly a team of ghostwriters who compiled all of the information that may or may not be credible.
7 ZACK MORRIS WASN'T A NATURAL BLOND
Zack Morris may have had perfect blonde locks, but Mark-Paul Gosselaar's natural hair color is brown. He had to dye his hair for six years, including for Saved By The Bell: The College Years and the made-for-TV film, to keep it the proper preppy shade of platinum.
Gosselaar has said that fans are surprised to see him with his brown hair these days, and some have even asked him why he'd dye over such an enviable shade of natural blonde. His reply has always been that it wasn't his to begin with.
6 THE CAST DIDN'T MAKE A LOT OF MONEY
Though the cast of the show were huge stars in the '90s, the series was still technically a Saturday morning pre-teen show, and therefore didn't have the budget for them to command handsome salaries. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Mark-Paul Gosselaar revealed the truth about their pay.
While some of the cast were able to negotiate royalties, they didn't see percentage profits from the merchandise or any of the marketing, and had to rely on the show's fame to catapult them into better paying careers in the industry (which they mostly have, to varying degrees).
5 3 MEMBERS OF THE ORIGINAL CAST WILL BE IN THE REBOOT
NBC is developing a reboot of Saved By The Bell, and so far 3 of the original cast members will be returning. Mark-Paul Gosselaar will return as Zack Morris, this time as the Governor of California whose handsome and charismatic son Mac Morris will attend Bayside High.
Other members of the original cast set to return are Tiffani Theissen as Kelly Kapowski, and Mario Lopez as A.C. Slater. Jessie Spano's son will also attend Bayside High with Mac Morris, but it's unclear if Jessie herself will be a character who makes a return.
4 DUSTIN DIAMOND HAS BEEN IN THE MOST SAVED BY THE BELL SPIN-OFFS
As Screech, Dustin Diamond has appeared in the most entries in the Saved By The Bell franchise. Beginning with Saved By The Bell, he returned for Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Saved By The Bell: The College Years, and continued with the film Saved By The Bell: Hawaii Style.
While it's unclear whether or not he'll reprise his role in the reboot, he may be featured in a brief cameo simply to continue his streak. Diamond has said in recent interviews that he feels Screech definitely deserves a role in the franchise going forward.
3 SOME HAVE HAD TUMULTUOUS LIVES AFTER THE SERIES
Dustin Diamond has been in legal trouble ever since Saved By The Bell: The New Class ended in 2000. In 2001 he filed for bankruptcy, in 2006 he reportedly released his own sex-tape, and in 2014 he was arrested for possession of a switch-blade knife.
Lark Voorhies (Lisa Turtle), who's been notably absent from cast reunions, has battled mental illness for the past decade. She's been reported to have bipolar disorder as well as schizophrenia, and has spoken about each on interviews with Dr. Oz to shed light on treatment.
2 DUSTIN DIAMOND WAS THE YOUNGEST CAST MEMBER
While the other actors were actually in their teens when they were cast, Dustin Diamond was several years younger and almost didn't get the part because of it. He was only 12 years old at the time, and had to adhere to specific labor laws involving children.
Series creator Peter Engel liked his comedic timing and his chemistry with the other kids, so he hired him without knowing his real age. When he found out he was only 12, he almost recast him, but by then the Bayside crew had bonded.
1 THE CHARACTERS WERE VERY DIFFERENT TO BEGIN WITH
The original plan was for AC Slater and Zack Morris to be rivals for Kelly Kapowski, but after producers noted the onscreen chemistry between the two teens, they decided they'd be better as friends. Lisa Turtle was originally going to be a Jewish girl from Long Island, but they liked Lark Voorhies so much they altered her backstory.
Elizabeth Berkeley was originally going to play Kelly, but producers thought Tiffani Thiessen was going to be a big star. They liked Berkeley so much though, they wrote the role of Jessie Spano specifically for her. While she liked being known as a strong feminist, she was jealous of the cute outfits Kelly got to wear.
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