Screech's father?

[elliot5]

Check out this picture of Dustin Diamond. Apparently he is the son of the ruthless ruler of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi! (Just kidding, but I did laugh when I saw this picture.)

[Jeff]

Dustin looks a lot like his father.. wow.. it's amazing

[Barb]

ilovekellykapowski said:

Dustin looks a lot like his father.. wow.. it's amazing

THat's not really his father...it's a joke.

[bigpapa9343]

I remember a rumor that Neil Diamond was his father! ;D

[elliot5]

I have also heard rumors that Neil Diamond is his father and Mike Diamond from the Beastie Boys is his brother.

Neither one of these rumors are true. I'm not sure how these rumors get started, but Dustin seems to be the target of an awful lot of them.

[Zack Attack]

Well have to see what dustin looks like when his "aged" abit, see if he grows to look like his father

[QueenKelly]

I think the Neil Diamond one came about because his name is Dustin Neil Diamond.

[Muffin Sangria]

Wasn't his real father the guy that tells Slater "Hey, this is study hall, not Soul Train."
I think he was the chemistry teacher in Cream For A Day too and he told the boys "This is chemistry class, not Love Connection".

Hmmm...I see a pattern there.

[rocco]

Yeah that was Diamonds father in Cream for a Day. I believe he also threatened to, "experiment with their grades" if they didn't stop fooling around. That must have been pretty neat for Dustin. Too bad his father stole all his SBTB money!


ROCCO

[Muffin Sangria]

rocco said:

Too bad his father stole all his SBTB money!

Did he really?? Man, that blows for Dustin. How often does that happen though. It seems like too often unfortunately.

[Barb]

zacharymorris said:

rocco said:

Too bad his father stole all his SBTB money!

Did he really?? Man, that blows for Dustin. How often does that happen though. It seems like too often unfortunately.

Yes, he did.

[tatfan]

at least the rest of the cast didnt have that problem. i cant understand those kinds of people.

[elliot5]

Diamond's father did steal most of his money. Diamond mentioned this on the Howard Stern Show when he was on in 2000.

I found this summary of what Diamond said on the show. I've editted this just to show the part about the money:

"Dustin Diamond, who plays Screech on the TV show ''Saved By The Bell'', came in to play the Mike Walker Gossip Game this morning. When he came in Howard said he doesn't really look like Screech anymore. He's got a beard now so he doesn't look like the young geek on the TV show. He's trying to get away from that character now that the show has ended. Howard told him he was smart to stick with the character as long as he did. Dustin said that they tried to replace him on SBTB at one point but they came back to him. Howard pointed out that ''Saved by the Bell'' has actually made more money for the networks than ''Seinfeld'' ever did. That's quite a feat for a show.

Dustin's salary came up and Howard guessed that he was making about $12,500 an episode. Dustin told Howard that he started out at age 11 making $2500 an episode and eventually worked his way up to $13,500 by the end of the run. Not too bad for a 23 year old. The show was finally brought to an end last November so now Dustin has started in stand-up comedy. Before they got into all of that Howard got Mike Walker on the phone to play the gossip game.

...

Dustin's money situation came up once again and this time it led to a really long discussion. Dustin told Howard how he doesn't have all of the money he made from ''Saved by the Bell'' because his parents seem to have spent most of it. He said his mother is dead now but his father is still living with him and Dustin is supporting him. He said that he got about 25% of the money because of the Jackie Coogan law which guarantees him a certain amount of money from acting as a child. The other 75% is gone though. Dustin told Howard that he wants to kick his dad out of his home. Howard volunteered to do it for him so Dustin gave him the number. Gary got the guy on the phone and Howard went on to talk to the guy for at least a half hour. Howard discussed the situation with Dustin's father Mark and basically found out nothing. Dustin wonders where all of that money went but Dad didn't really have an answer. Mark said that he gave up his career as a teacher to shuttle Dustin around to his acting job so the money Dustin was making was supporting the family. Howard kept asking the guy why he would give up a career to do that but he didn't have a good answer. He seemed to be using that as the excuse for spending the money. They went over the same stuff over and over again but nothing was settled. Dustin still wonders where his money is and Dad doesn't have an answer. Howard eventually told Mark that Dustin wants him to move out. Mark says that he's trying to get back into his field of work but it's hard. He's got health problems and it's tough to get started again. Dustin said he doesn't really want to throw his dad out on the street but he does want him to move out. He's not paying rent and Dustin is sick of it. Mark told Howard that he felt that he was being attacked from the beginning of the call and he never got his chance to talk. They gave him plenty of chances though. Howard thinks there's a book that could be written about this whole situation and said he'd talk to Judith Regan about putting something together. Howard said there's a bigger story there than they can imagine."

[rocco]

This is the imdb thread for Mark Diamond. I wonder if he was living vicariously through Dustin?

Actor - filmography
(1980s) (1970s)

1. "Saved by the Bell"
- Cream for a Day (1989) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Mr. Bennett
2. Light of Day (1987) .... The Hunzz

3. American Hot Wax (1978) .... Stagehand


I wonder what American Hot Wax was? LOL!!! Seems that Dustins dad may have wanted to be an actor himself but never made it. That still doesn't give him the right to take all his kids money!

ROCCO

[diamondcutter]

I wish there was more protection for child actors'/ actresses' earnings. Idiots like "Daddy Diamond" should be prosecuted.