Lark Voorhies has joined her Saved by the Bell costars in remembering Dustin Diamond, who died Monday at 44 years old.
The Nashville-born actress took to Instagram Tuesday to pay tribute to Diamond, after he lost his battle with stage four lung cancer.
She posted a throwback of herself and her costar in character as Lisa Turtle and Screech Powers (respectively) from their five-year run on the beloved NBC high school sitcom.
RIP: Lark Voorhies has joined her Saved by the Bell costars in remembering Dustin Diamond, who died Monday at 44 years old
The 46-year-old wrote: ‘Words cannot express the grief that I am feeling right now. Dustin and I had a warm and special friendship, he was a caring gentleman, and my memories of him will always be cherished.
‘I am so very sorry he is gone. But it’s exceptionally sad for his close loved ones who have do deal with his tragic death and their own great loss. My heart goes out to them at this trying time.’
Her rich girl character Lisa was often the object of lovable nerd Screech’s desire on the show, which first premiered as Good Morning, Miss Bliss on the Disney Channel in 1988, before it was retooled as Saved by the Bell on NBC.
The series ran for four seasons from 1989 to 1993, spawning two spinoff series, The College Years (1993-1994) and The New Class (1993-2000), as well as the TV movies Hawaiian Style (1992) and Wedding in Las Vegas (1994).
Paying tribute: The Nashville-born actress took to Instagram Tuesday to pay tribute to Diamond (pictured in September, 2019)
Battle with cancer: It came after he lost his battle with stage four small-cell lung carcinoma
Sending love: Voorhies previously took to Instagram last month to wish Diamond well, after he was diagnosed and subsequently underwent a round of chemotherapy in Florida
’90s vibes: She shared a photo of them at the 1994 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards (pictured in May, 1994)
Young love: Her rich girl character Lisa was often the object of lovable nerd Screech’s desire on the show, which first premiered as Good Morning, Miss Bliss on the Disney Channel in 1988, before it was retooled as Saved by the Bell on NBC
Voorhies previously took to Instagram last month to wish Diamond well, after he was diagnosed in early January with stage four small-cell lung carcinoma and subsequently underwent a round of chemotherapy in Florida.
She shared a photo of them at the 1994 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, writing: ‘I’d like to take the time to send special love and special best wishes to Dustin Diamond, who is one of my dearest friends.
‘Dustin, all the many in your close circle who know you to be the great person that you are, are truly pulling for you and praying for the best outcome. -Lark Voorhies’
It comes after other Saved by the Bell stars offered their own tributes on social media, including Mario Lopez, 47, who wrote: ‘Dustin, you will be missed my man. The fragility of this life is something never to be taken for granted. Prayers for your family will continue on…’
Tiffani Thiessen, 47, wrote: ‘I am deeply saddened by the news of my old co-star @realdustindiamond passing. Life is extremely fragile and it’s something we should never take for granted. God speed Dustin.’
Fond memories: It comes after other Saved by the Bell stars offered their own tributes on social media, including Mario Lopez, 47, who wrote: ‘Dustin, you will be missed my man. The fragility of this life is something never to be taken for granted. Prayers for your family will continue on…’
Deeply saddened: Tiffani Thiessen, 47, wrote: ‘I am deeply saddened by the news of my old co-star @realdustindiamond passing. Life is extremely fragile and it’s something we should never take for granted. God speed Dustin’
Truly gifted: Elizabeth Berkley, 48, also remembered him in a post: ‘I’m grateful to have gotten to create with Dustin when we were at the beginning of our dreams coming true. I will hold onto those sweet memories and the laughs we shared. He was a truly gifted talent. Rest In Peace’
Comedic genius: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, 46, wrote on Twitter: ‘Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dustin Diamond, a true comedic genius. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Looking back at our time working together, I will miss those raw, brilliant sparks that only he was able to produce. A pie in your face, my comrade’
Elizabeth Berkley, 48, also remembered him in a post: ‘I’m grateful to have gotten to create with Dustin when we were at the beginning of our dreams coming true. I will hold onto those sweet memories and the laughs we shared. He was a truly gifted talent. Rest In Peace.’
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, 46, wrote on Twitter: ‘Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dustin Diamond, a true comedic genius. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Looking back at our time working together, I will miss those raw, brilliant sparks that only he was able to produce. A pie in your face, my comrade.’
With the exception of Diamond, the original core cast all recently made appearances on the first season of the Saved by the Bell reboot, which premiered in November on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock.
In Screech’s absence, the show explained that he and his robot Kevin were living on the International Space Station.
Diamond was in talks to bring back the iconic character for season two, as his longtime manager Roger Paul told People: ‘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.’
Juicy gossip: Diamond and his costars had a complicated relationship over the years, largely thanks to his 2009 tell-all Behind the Bell, which alleged drug use and sexual relationships among the cast
Disappointment: The Celebrity Big Brother star later called the book a ‘disappointment’, explaining he had a ghostwriter, when he appeared on The Dr. Oz Show in November, 2016
Sincere apology: He addressed his costars: ‘I will say, guys, I think you’re fantastic, working with you has been just one of the icons of my life and I’m sorry that this has taken advantage of me’ (pictured in May, 1992)
Lopez has since told Variety that he hopes the show will find another way to pay tribute to him in the wake of his death: ‘We were really hoping he’d make an appearance on season two.
‘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.’
Diamond and his costars had a complicated relationship over the years, largely thanks to his 2009 tell-all Behind the Bell, which alleged drug use and sexual relationships among the cast.
The Celebrity Big Brother star later called the book a ‘disappointment’, explaining he had a ghostwriter, when he appeared on The Dr. Oz Show in November, 2016.
He addressed his costars: ‘I will say, guys, I think you’re fantastic, working with you has been just one of the icons of my life and I’m sorry that this has taken advantage of me — the book and other situations I’m sure we’ll talk about here. But I’m sure that you’ve experienced downfalls, as well, in your time and I’m still loving you guys.’
Reunited: With the exception of Diamond, the original core cast all recently made appearances on the first season of the Saved by the Bell reboot, which premiered in November on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock