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celebrity radar - gossips

‘Saved by the Bell,’ Actor, Dustin Diamond Dies at 44

Published

3 years ago

February 2, 2021

Sahara Weekly

Dustin Diamond, the former child actor who found fame on the enduring NBC Saturday morning sitcom “Saved by the Bell” but struggled to find work in later years, died on Monday in Florida. He was 44.

‘Saved by the Bell,’ Actor, Dustin Diamond Dies at 44

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The cause of death was small-cell carcinoma, according to Mr. Diamond’s father, Mark Diamond, who said that his son died while being transferred from a hospital to hospice care.

After Mr. Diamond went ‘through some medical testing’ in January, his representatives said in a statement that he had cancer.

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From 1989 to 1992, Mr. Diamond played Samuel “Screech” Powers on “Saved by the Bell,” which developed a cult following among millennials and members of Generation X and grew into an internet obsession for some fans.

The show followed the day-to-day adventures of a group of loudly dressed friends at the fictional Bayside High School in California.

Saturday morning viewers watched Mr. Diamond grow up on the show as he played Screech, the sweet-natured, geeky underdog and the dunce among his friends. An ongoing plotline was the character’s unrequited crush on Lisa Turtle, who was played by Lark Voorhies.

Screech was also the comedic sidekick to Zack Morris, the popular student who played Mark-Paul Gosselaar. The show’s cast also included Mario Lopez as Slater, Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie and Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly, who rounded out the circle of friends.

The show also starred Dennis Haskins as the school principal who mentored and disciplined the group. Mr. Diamond appeared in all 86 episodes.

Memorable plot lines included a caffeine pill addiction by Ms. Berkley’s character, the friends competing in a dance competition hosted by the radio disc jockey Casey Kasem and when “Screech” is asked to make fake IDs so the guys could go to a club.

Mr. Diamond was born on Jan. 7, 1977, in San Jose, Calif., according to IMDB.com, and he said he began acting when he was 8. He also appeared in other series, including “The Wonder Years.”

He originated the role of Screech in 1988 when he was cast in “Good Morning, Miss Bliss,” the Disney Channel series that was the forerunner to “Saved by the Bell” and introduced many of its characters.

After “Saved by the Bell” ended in 1992, a prime-time spinoff show called “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” followed the gang in college. That show ran for one season, ending in 1994. From 1994 to 2000, he reprised the role of Screech in another spinoff series, “Saved by the Bell: The New Class.”

After the series ended, Mr. Diamond became known for his post-stardom troubles, and spoke openly about his struggles finding work.

“The hardest thing about being a child star is giving up your childhood,” Mr. Diamond said in 2013 on “Oprah: Where Are They Now?” While he was working on “Saved by the Bell,” he said, he feared being replaced, saying, “You don’t get a childhood, really.”

After the series ended, he said: “I didn’t really know what I was going to do. It was hard to get work that wasn’t Screech-cloned stuff.”

He added: “I had been working for the last 10 years, every single week, and I felt lost. As I mature I realize, wow, I was kind of going through my rebellious teens in my 20s.”

Seeking a payout in the mid-2000s, Mr. Diamond found tabloid fame with the release of a sex tape that he later spoke of with regret.

“The sex tape is the thing that I’m most embarrassed about,”Mr Diamind said on Ms. Winfrey’s documentary show. Although he made some money from the tape, he said, “it wasn’t worth what the fallout was.”

He was also featured on reality shows including “Celebrity Boxing 2” in 2002 and “Celebrity Fit Club,” on VH1, in 2007.

In 2009, he released a tell-all book called Behind the Bell that claimed that members of the show’s cast were using drugs and having sex. Years later, Mr. Diamond expressed regret about the book as well, saying it was written by a ghostwriter.

“The book was another disappointment of mine,” he said in Ms. Winfrey’s documentary. “I was a first-time author, so they had a ghostwriter. I talked to a guy a few times, so the book has some truth in it, and a lot of the stories were just kind of throwaways.”

Mr. Diamond’s problems also extended to court. In 2015, he was accused of stabbing a man during a fight in a Wisconsin bar. Mr. Diamond said he had pulled a knife to defend himself; he was convicted on two misdemeanors , sentenced to four months in jail and ordered to pay more than $1,000 to the man who was stabbed.

In a 2016 interview on Extra” Mr. Diamond told Mr. Lopez that were he to meet his other former “Saved by the Bell” castmates, he would “ask for forgiveness for any kind of misunderstandings that may have come about by the book.” He said he had not seen some of his co-stars for decades.

Mr. Diamond was repeatedly omitted from reunions. In 2015, he was left out of a skit that reunited the cast on “The Tonight Show” and in 2020, when Saved by the Bell was rebooted on NBC’s Peacock streaming service, Mr. Diamond was not part of the new series.

There were no other immediate survivors besides Mr. Diamond’s father.

Mr. Diamond’s mother, Jaimee Diamond, died of breast cancer in 1996, and an older brother, Ryan Diamond, died of a heart condition in 1983 at 8 years old, Mark Diamond said.

Christopher Mele and Neil Vigdor contributed reporting, and Kitty Bennett contributed research.

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celebrity radar - gossips

‘Pity men’, Williams Uchemba laments outfits women wear to the gym

Published

6 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Sahara Weekly

‘Pity men’, Williams Uchemba laments outfits women wear to the gym

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Nollywood actor Williams Uchemba has lamented over the choice of outfit ladies wear to the gym.

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The movie star, in a video on his official Instagram account, lamented that women now wear revealing outfits to the gym, and the times he goes to the gym, he sees something he didn’t plan to see.

He also revealed that, due to this trend, he stopped going to public gym because of his desire to “make heaven.”

He said, “Ladies how far? Should all the men not come to the gym again? Because it’s getting out of hand and becoming appalling, I don tire. Make una try to dey wear beta cloth come gym nau, what is this?

“There are men that have made up their minds to make the heavenly race and na una dey plenty for gym. Whoever that sells these clothes to you people, their shop go burn down because what is going on? Every single time one comes to the gym, wetin you no plan see you must see am.

“Una don make up una mind say no man in this Nigeria will make heaven but It won’t work because I’ve left the gym for una, I’ve set up a gym in my house because I cannot cope, I want to make heaven. You will have 20 people in the gym, 300 are women, doing exercises.

“Have conscience, men are people’s children too, I’m speaking for all the men and we need to make heaven.”

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celebrity radar - gossips

Nollywood loses another veteran actor

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Nollywood loses another veteran actor

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The Nigerian movie industry has again been thrown into mourning after the news of the death of another veteran Nollywood actor, Zulu Adigwe, surfaced on social media on Tuesday.

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Adigwe’s death was announced by a movie producer, Stanley Nwoko, in a post on his Instagram page .

Mourning the actor, Nwoko wrote, “Rest in peace, good actor.”

Adigwe’s death is coming two weeks after Junior Pope and three other Nollywood actors died in a boat accident in Anam River.

The actors were said to be on their way to a location when the incident occurred.

Adigwe gained recognition primarily for portraying fatherly characters in Nollywood films.

His breakthrough role came as Mr. B in the popular sitcom “Basi and Company.”

He also appeared in the highly successful 2019 movie “Living in Bondage: Breaking Free.”

Although born in Enugu State and spent his early years there, he later moved to Austria, where he completed his primary and secondary education.

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celebrity radar - gossips

ERELU OLAJUMOKE, AN ALLURING CHARMING BEAUTY MAJESTICALLY CLIMBED THE FIFTH FLOOR

Published

7 days ago

April 19, 2024

Sahara Weekly

ERELU OLAJUMOKE, AN ALLURING CHARMING BEAUTY MAJESTICALLY CLIMBED THE FIFTH FLOOR

…Celebrates Golden Jubilee In Glitz and Amazing Glory

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She is a damsel, an embodiment of beauty, brain and brawn, possessing the best of qualities any discerning mind would dream of. She is no one else than Erelu Olajumoke, Erelu of Ifetedo Kingdom and founder/Chief Executive Officer of Erelu Olajumoke Foundation. Very industrious, illustrious and extremely hardworking, Erelu Olajumoke, the Iya Ijo of Bishop Court Chapel in Alagbaka Akure will on Saturday, the 20th of April, 2024 celebrate her 50th birthday, stepping majestically into the fifth floor and marking a golden jubilee that looks every inch, good on her.

The effervescent, glamorous and charismatic Erelu Olajumoke is an enigma, a colossus who has contributed immensely to humanity and the entire global economy. She is graciously blessed with the spirit of giving. Erelu Olajumoke, a magnanimous lady of substance, value and valor has been practically involved in various forms of empowerment, spreading love, passion and absolute generosity to the poor, the needy, the old (elderly), orphans, widows/widowers, the impoverished, the underprivileged and the intimidated members of the society. Endowed with an uncommon traits of great-heartedness, Erelu Olajumoke took it upon herself to alleviate the poverty levels of the people by directly, impacting on their lives.

Oftentimes, this legendary philanthropist, who is very much aware of the fact that health is indeed wealth, has organized various medical outreach programmes that yielded great impact on beneficiaries. Through Erelu Olajumoke Foundation, this amazon of beauty has transformed the lives of many, bringing in, health care professionals from around the globe to give succor to those with health challenges. Her roles in the rejuvenation and revamping of people’s health are awesome and iconic. Those who have benefitted from her tremendous medical contributions would always say lofty tales about her.

As an outstandingly committed child of God, Erelu Olajumoke who is currently basking in the euphoria of clocking 50, has been and still involved in fundraising activities towards her church and evangelism. Her passion and zeal for spreading the good news of God, winning souls into the Kingdom of God and expunging sinners from the gory dungeons of sin are highly recognized and commendable. She is absolutely emotional and animated to the church, the Gospel and everything about her Creator.

An extremely supportive partner, Erelu Olajumoke is simply, the strongest pillar of support to the political and democratic achievements of her beau, the distinguished Senator Oluwole Olubiyi Fadeyi, the dynamic and zestful Senator representing Osun Central Senatorial District at the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, Abuja.

As a matter of fact, Erelu Olajumoke has displayed so much affection for the amiable Senator through unwavering support, unalloyed devotion to his democratic ideologies and strategies coupled with her reciprocating fondness for the people her hubby represents at the Red Chambers. Erelu Olajumoke synergized her benevolent acts with those of her beloved Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi by catering for constituency needs under his Osun Senatorial District covering Osogbo, Ila, Boripe, Odo-Otin, Boluwaduro, Ifedayo, Irepodun, Olorunda and Orolu Local Government Areas.

The ‘birthday girl’, Erelu Olajumoke regularly extends her olive oil of love, passion and care for all widowed women and men in these communities not excluding helpless and hopeless orphans, out of school children, those experiencing excruciating poverty amongst other less-privileged within the Osun Central Senatorial District and beyond. Erelu stands as a rock of Gibraltar, upholding the democratic values of her hubby with in-depth determination, perseverance and tenacity. As the First Lady of Osun Central Senatorial District, Erelu Olajumoke has performed meritoriously contributing immensely to the successful foray and great achievements of her best friend, her best adviser, best confidant and above all best lover, the distinguished Senator Ajagunla Oluwole Olubiyi Fadeyi, the Tayese II of Ifetedo Kingdom.

With the input and advise from Erelu Olajumoke, Senator Olubiyi Fadeyo has brought new hope to the good people of Osun Central Senatorial District, giving our palliatives and economic empowerment equipments like buses, cars, motorcycles, tricycles, hairdressing equipments, barbing gadgets, grinding machines, freezers amongst other vital poverty alleviation to drastically and astronomically reduce poverty from the shores of that senatorial district.

In a nutshell, Erelu Olajumoke, who will be gathering high net-worth dignitaries, top celebrities, society bigwigs, powerful political stalwarts, family, friends and well-wishers come Saturday to celebrate her joining the club of the 50s, could be described as an awesomely delectable queen with an uncommon heart of gold.

Happy birthday to this rare gem, a blessing to humanity and the solid pillar of support behind one of Nigeria’s most reliable Senators, Ajagunla Olubiyi Oluwole Fadeyi.

Barrister Olaitan Ilori