A classic sitcom star allegedly threatened a castmate while filming. New details have emerged about the filming of Saved by the Bell's sequel series, New Class, and the late Dustin Diamond.
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Diamond starred as Samuel "Screech" Powers on the classic sitcom and its sequel. ID's Hollywood Demons, After the Bell, examined behind the scenes of the franchise. Production assistant Steve DeVaney claims the sequel series "was pretty bananas from the jump."
Apparently, according to DeVaney, the late sitcom star had a habit of carrying knives to set. He claimed that Diamond pulled a knife on a castmate.
ID's Hollywood Demons, After the Bell, takes a closer look at the different iterations of the show, from Good Morning, Miss Bliss to The College Years. When it came to New Class, Diamond was the only returning cast member, something production assistant Steve DeVaney claims "was pretty bananas from the jump."
DeVaney recalls Diamond decorating his dressing room with pictures of knives and guns. The late actor was known to carry knives frequently, which became a problem when an altercation erupted with a castmate.
Sitcom Star Threatened Castmate
In the documentary, DeVaney explains, "He's still an insecure teenager at that time who comes in wanting to present like, 'I'm the big boss. I've got the gravitas. I'm really the star of this show.' I saw him treat a lot of people poorly, to be very clear."
He continued, "We were shooting something one day. As I recall, it was a promotional video. I was one of the PAs involved. They told them, 'Be agile, have fun, joke around an we'll just capture it.' And soon enough, there was an argument between Dustin Diamond and a cast member. I can't even remember what started it exactly, but here's Dustin Diamond saying, 'I could have you fired.' "
"Very quickly, it led to Dustin pulling out a butterfly knife. It's a very physically threatening thing. Everybody's trying to say, 'Back off, everybody cool down.' Finally, it ends with Dustin. He didn't attempt to strike him, but it ends with him in tears, and he runs off."
Of course, Diamond isn't around to defend himself. The actor passed away at 44 from cancer.
