Written by Jacqui Palumbo, CNN The Story of Late Night, a new CNN Original Series on the history of the iconic genre, airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Listen to the companion podcast, Behind the Desk: The Story of Late Night, here.
For more than six decades, American late night talk show hosts have sat behind large wooden desks, with guests in cushioned chairs or couches to their right. Behind them, the wall may be painted to mimic an open vista; around them, a brightly lit studio set is made more inviting through warm wood tones, mugs on a desk or in Johnny Carson s case a couple of well-placed house plants.
Dustin Diamond, the former child star who most notably played curly-haired geek Samuel “Screech” Powers on NBC’s wholesome 1990s sitcom “Saved by the Bell” and then became infamous for a number of post-show scandals, has died. He was 44.
Diamond, who revealed on Jan. 14 that he had Stage 4 cancer, died in a Florida hospital Monday morning as arrangements were being made to move him to hospice care, his talent agent, Roger Paul, told The Times. Diamond had small-cell carcinoma that metastasized in his lungs after originating elsewhere in his body.
“He was diagnosed with this brutal, relentless form of malignant cancer only three weeks ago,” Paul added in a statement. “In that time, it managed to spread rapidly throughout his system; the only mercy it exhibited was its sharp and swift execution. Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful.”