'Saved by the Bell' alum Dustin Diamond hospitalized with cancer
"Saved by the Bell" alum Dustin Diamond was hospitalized in Florida over the weekend, a member of the actor's team confirmed to ABC News.
His representatives confirmed Thursday that the actor is suffering from cancer.
"At this time we can confirm that Dustin does have cancer," reps wrote on the actor's Facebook page. "Dustin will disclose more information once it is available and a plan moving forward is made."
Diamond's team isn't disclosing where he's receiving care out of respect for his privacy. The team said Wednesday it wasn't revealing more about his condition, and said he was undergoing testing to determine what caused his hospitalization.
"It's tough right now, that's all I can say. It's really tough on him," his rep said Wednesday. "We're hoping for a speedy recovery."
"He's getting testing, and when we really know exactly what it is, we'll let people know," his rep explained Wednesday. "But right now, there's a lot of things that could be wrong."
"He's just not doing well right now," the rep continued. "He seriously has something the matter and hopefully it will be able to heal if it's not too late."
"He's just trying to keep his spirits up," the rep said Wednesday of Diamond's current state of mind. "It's not an easy thing -- it's a tough journey he's going to go on right now, so we just want everybody to give him thoughts and prayers."
Diamond, 44, is most famous for playing Samuel Powers (aka Screech) in the "Saved by the Bell" franchise. This includes four seasons of the flagship series as well as spin-offs such as "Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style," "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" and "Saved by the Bell: The New Class."
He did not join former castmates Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen and Lark Voorhies for the "Saved by the Bell" revival on Peacock.
In a recent episode of the reboot, Lopez's A.C. Slater commented that Screech was currently in orbit working on the International Space Station with his robot sidekick, Kevin.
