Dustin Diamond passed away early last year aged forty-four. Now, his abandoned house has finally been sold.
The news comes over a year after it was announced that Diamond had passed away…
And now, thank’s to 2 viral videos, we can see why it took so long.
Scroll on to see for yourself…
Born in 1977, Dustin Diamond was a comedian, director, and actor.
But there’s one role he’s undeniably best known for…
Saved by the Bell first hit screens in 1989.
The teen comedy was set in the fictional Californian Bayside High and saw us introduced to Zack Morris and his high-schooler group that included A.C. Slater, Jessie Spano, Kelly Kapowski, “Screech” Powers, and Lisa Turtle.
The show was a huge hit…
And chronicled the friends as they navigated all things life-related, from relationships and finals to school dances and breakups, all while, more often than not, managing to ruffle the feathers of their principal, Mr. Richard Belding, who does his best to keep the gang in check.
It definitely had one of the catchiest theme tunes…
As well as making for great viewing, there’s no denying how good that theme tune was.
But, after 4 seasons, we waved the friends goodbye.
The show wrapped up in 1993, although it came to a complete end with Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas, a 2-hour movie where it finally happens… Kelly and Zack get hitched.
But that wasn’t the end.
Any show with such profound success is bound to be rinsed for all its worth and Saved by the Bell was no exception to this.
The first spinoff named Saved By the Bell: The College Years lasted for just 1 season from 1993 to 1994, and then a second, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which ran from 1993 to 2000.
There were many beloved characters on the show.
But the fan favorite was undeniably Screech.
The goofy sidekick was totally hilarious.
And was played to perfection by Dustin Diamond.
But early last year, fans of Diamond received some devastating news…
After a recent hospitalization, the actor passed away.
A rep for Dustin told TMZ he died on February 1.
He was reportedly initially hospitalized in Florida in January after feeling pain all over his body and a general sense of feeling unwell.
Tragically, he was later diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
Dustin’s death comes just a couple of weeks after completing his first round of chemo after he was diagnosed with stage 4 small cell carcinoma — most commonly known as lung cancer.
Upon hearing the news, his co-stars paid tribute to the late actor.
His former co-stars Mario Lopez, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, and Tori Spelling posted their heartfelt words on Twitter.
But as the grieving process starts for a lot of the people around him, his fans have been analyzing his social media for clues.
And eyes landed on his last post on Instagram which revealed some heartbreaking things…
First of all, people have pointed out how happy he looks…
Even though it is unclear when the photo was actually taken, it was posted on December 27, just days before his cancer diagnosis. The snap shows him with a friend, both of them pulling funny faces together.
Then fans moved onto his finger, in which he had a wedding band on.
This is particularly upsetting as since the photo was posted, he had been divorced, according to reports.
And finally, the most heartbreaking element of the photo would have to be the comments.
When fans started hearing the news of his cancer diagnosis, they rushed to his post to leave well wishes, a lot of them leaving prayers for the star.
But sadly, he lost his battle with the disease.
A short while after his death, his heartbreaking plans for the future were revealed…
Diamond was hoping to revisit his iconic Saved By the Bell character before he passed.
He was planning on joining season 2 of the Peacock reboot and taking up his role as Screech.
“He was upset that he wasn’t asked to be a part of the reboot, but he talked to one of the executive producers about possibly coming to appear on the second season and he was happy about that,” his manager told PEOPLE.
After Diamond’s death, Lopez told Variety that he hopes the show will find a way to pay tribute to him in the series.
“We were really hoping he’d make an appearance on season 2,” Lopez said. “Now I’m really going to push for some sort of tribute. I would love a whole episode dedicated to some of his most iconic moments or something like that. We have a lot of very creative minds who can try to figure it out, but I haven’t had those conversations yet.”
Calling Diamond “an integral part of the chemistry and the comedy” of the original series, Lopez admitted, “I don’t know if [the show] would have worked without him.”
Truly heartbreaking!
It has now been over a year since his tragic death, and his home has finally been sold.
Before his passing, Diamond was forced to put his home in Port Washington, Wisconsin up for sale to pay back the money he owed the bank.
Dustin owed $269,326 to Wells Fargo, after failing to pay the leftover sum on his $340,000 house.
However, in May, the house finally sold for $276,400, in hopes of turning it into a commercial property.
The house had struggled to sell for so long due to the amount of clutter Diamond accumulated, with some calling it a hoarder’s den.
Before it was sold, the listing described the property as “Great for investor or handyman owner.”
And now, 3 videos have been released, giving an inside look at Diamond’s life.
Many TikTok users have commented on the videos, with one writing: “That’s so sad, is it really his? Did he really live like that?”
“He was sick with cancer. I’m sure it was hard for him to do simple cleaning. Poor thing,” another commented.
You can watch the videos here.