If anyone ever decided to build a museum of 90s pop culture, Saved by the Bell would deserve its own wing. The exploits of Zack, Slater, Kelly, Jessie, Lisa, and Screech are etched in the memories of most everyone who grew up during that time, and reruns of the show are still on television five days a week. What people may not realize is that some of the actors and actresses that appeared on the show for only one episode, or a short storyline, have gone on to see an impressive amount of success. The following are eleven people you’re probably pretty familiar with, that you might not know were on Saved by the Bell.
Carla Gugino - She’s currently Ari Gold’s arch nemesis on Entourage, and some of us fondly remember her starring role in the Pauly Shore classic Son in Law, but way back in 1988, when Saved by the Bell was in its first season, then known as Good Morning Miss Bliss, Gugino was in one episode as a ninth grader Zack had a crush on. Zack had told her he was in the ninth grade, as well, as they had met over the summer and he didn’t think they’d be going to the same school. The problem was, he was actually in the eighth grade, and she ended up transferring to his school. When she eventually found out he lied she dumped him.
Denise Richards - Although Wild Things and Drop Dead Gorgeous may have propelled Richards to mainstream success, her one episode stint on Saved by the Bell in 1991 as Slater’s secret admirer at the Malibu Sands Beach Resort was one of her first roles. Slater eventually learned it was her who was sending him notes, one by via frisbee and one by remote control truck, when she faked drowning just so he could rescue her. It was said she was going to attend Bayside, but when the gang arrived back at school she was nowhere to be found.
Michael Jai White - Movie fans know White as a superhero. He’s been both Spawn, and more recently, Black Dynamite. Before those starring roles, however, he had an uncredited one in a 1992 episode of Saved by the Bell where he played a military police officer. In the episode, Slater was scared to tell his dad he didn’t want to follow in his military footsteps and instead wanted to go to the University of Iowa to wrestle, so a plan was devised where Zack would pretend to be Slater and do his interview with the congressman for him, intentionally flunking it. It all worked out until Mr. Belding said hello to Slater in the hallway and the congressman said that he wasn’t the same person from the interview. White and another soldier came into the classroom to “arrest” Zack and Slater as a scared straight tactic. White picked Slater up out of his seat. It was his first TV role and he still talks about it every now and then with Mario Lopez.
Nancy Valen - Valen may have been one the of the hottest Baywatch babes, I mean “lifeguards,” of all-time, but before she donned the red one piece she wore a white nurse’s smock on Saved by the Bell for one episode in 1990 when she played Jennifer, the gorgeous new nurse that Zack wanted to trade in Kelly for. Earlier, Zack and Kelly had decided to go steady, but as soon as he saw Jennifer he changed his mind. Slater and Jessie each found out, but promised to keep it a secret. Lisa, however, made no such promise, and when she found out they told Jennifer and she devised a plan to get Zack back that worked to perfection. Unfortunately for Zack, Kelly was enjoying the company of male model / chess jock Melvin Nerdly at the end of the episode, and was perfectly fine no long going steady with Zack.
Scott Wolf - Always uncredited, but seemingly always there, in 1990 and 1991 Wolf was a guy who was constantly in the background on Saved by the Bell. According to IMDB, he was only in four episodes, but it sure seemed like he was there far more often. In fact, I'm convinced they made Scott Wolf clones just for the show. After huge roles in Party of Five (143 episodes), Everwood (38 episodes), The Nine, and V - not to mention the 1999 big screen hit Go - Wolf’s seen quite a bit more camera time, and he’s even been able to say a line or two.
Patrick Muldoon - Known most for his work on the soap operas Melrose Place (the original version) and Days of Our Lives, Muldoon is recognizable to Saved by the Bell fans as Jeff, the sleazy one time manager of The Max who stole Kelly from Zack and then proceeded to cheat on her (with a smokin hot blond) at The Attic, a nightclub Kelly couldn’t get into until Screech made her a fake ID. Jeff’s college guy ways may have temporarily wooed Ms. Kapowski in 1991, but we all know who won in the end. Were it not for that fake ID, however, who knows what might have happened!
Leah Remini - Everybody knows Remini from her role as the wife on The King of Queens (wouldn’t that technically make her the queen of Queens?), but before she was a tough New York woman with an attitude on that show, she was Stacey Carosi, a tough New York girl with an attitude who was managing the staff at the Malibu Sands Beach Resort, and dating Zack, on Saved by the Bell in 1991. At first Zack thought of her more as the bosses stuck up daughter, but eventually the two found common ground. It would only be a summer love, though, as she would return to New York at the end of the summer and Zack would go back to Bayside.
Kristin Holmquist (now Kristen Kemp) - The host of TLC’s Property Ladder was far less interested in homes back in 1989, and far more interested in dating Zack Morris. Unfortunately, her character, Rhonda Robistelli, was a bit too tough for Zack’s liking. He made the claim that he had a strict rule against dating the school’s shot put champion. He ended up going out with her at one point, though, when Kelly and Jessie devised a plan to get back at Zack for bugging their slumber party. Slater ended up offering the fake leg cast he was wearing as part of the ruse to Zack saying he could use it to fight off Rhonda.
Patrick Fabian - Known for his roles on such hit shows as Big Love, Veronica Mars, and Joan of Arcadia, and with a role on the new Teen Nick show Gigantic, Patrick Fabian has come a long way from being Professor Jeremiah Lasky, the cool anthropology prof, and single father, who ended up dating Kelly on Saved by the Bell: The College Years. At one point during the show’s short run from 1993-1994 he also saved the gang’s butt when they threw a rave that found its way to his classroom late at night.
Tori Spelling - The 292 episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 that Spelling appeared in may never have the pop culture cache of the three episodes of Saved by the Bell she was in. This is partly due to the fact that she had the very unique role of being Screech’s first, and only, real girlfriend at Bayside, Violet Bickerstaff. Violet’s breakup with Maxwell Nerdstrom facilitated their coupling, and not even the destruction of Screech’s mom’s Elvis statue, which the gang replaced with funds they raised by throwing a party, could break her and Screech up.
Bridgette Wilson - For five episodes in 1992 Wilson played Ginger, the blonde airhead that was dumber than words could even hope to describe. She was so dumb that Zack, despite going out with her at one point, couldn't really stand to be around her even though she was one of the hottest girls at Bayside. Wilson has gone on to a number of roles that are far different from Ginger, including playing Sonya Blade in the first Mortal Kombat movie. She also released two albums in the mid-90s, and sports fans may recognize her as Mrs. Pete Sampras as she married the tennis great in 2000 and the couple have two children together.