Peter Engel obit

Peter Engel, ‘Saved by the Bell’ Producer, Dies at 88

He shepherded the millennial touchstone series and a host of other teen sitcoms during his career.

 He was not on the list.

Peter Engel, who executive produced Saved by the Bell and a host of other teen sitcoms for NBC, died Tuesday at his home in Santa Monica, his son Stephen David Engel announced. He was 88.

The show that became Saved by the Bell began life as Good Morning, Miss Bliss on Disney Channel. The series at the time focused on Hayley Mills, who played the title character, and her students at an Indianapolis junior high school. That show lasted only one season, but after a retooling (and change in setting to Southern California), the NBC-produced show was relaunched as Saved by the Bell and became both a staple of NBC’s Saturday lineup from 1989-93 and a touchstone show for Gen X and millennial viewers.

The show helped launch the careers of its young cast — Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Dustin Diamond and Lark Voorhies — and spawned a primetime spinoff subtitled The College Years as well as Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which ran from 1993-2000 as a Saturday morning show. Engel was also an executive producer of Peacock’s Saved by the Bell update, which ran for two seasons in 2020 and ’21.

Engel’s eponymous production company went on to supply NBC with a host of other teen-oriented sitcoms, including California Dreams, USA High, Malibu, CA, City Guys and Hang Time, among others. Engel wrote dozens of episodes of those shows. He also was an executive producer of NBC’s stand-up comedy competition Last Comic Standing.

Born in Manhattan in 1936, Engel graduated from New York University and began his career in the industry as an NBC page at 30 Rock. His first credit as an executive producer was on the 1971 CBS variety series The Ice Palace; he also exec produced the NBC daytime drama How to Survive a Marriage in 1974-75.

Over his career, Engel executive produced more than a thousand episodes of television, the great majority of them over his long partnership with NBC. He earned a Daytime Emmy nomination as a producer of Saved by the Bell: The New Class in 2000 and and a primetime Emmy nod for Last Comic Standing in 2004. He was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Gold Circle for children’s and family programming, which recognizes “distinguished service within the industry,” in 2023.

Engel published a memoir, I Was Saved by the Bell: Stories of Life, Love, and Dreams that Do Come True, in 2016.

He is survived by his children, Lauren, Joshua and Stephen David, and by his grandchild, Ezra Alhadeff.

 

Writer

Last Comic Standing (2003)

Last Comic Standing

6.4

TV Series

writer

2006–2010

34 episodes

 

Rundfunk

4.9

TV Series

supervising writer (2003-2004)

2003–2005

 

Dionysio Basco, Steven Daniel, Marissa Dyan, Wesley Jonathan, Caitlin Mowrey, and Scott Whyte in City Guys (1997)

City Guys

7.1

TV Series

created by (creator)

1997–2001

105 episodes

 

Priscilla Inga Taylor, Edward Blatchford, Jason Hayes, Wendi Kenya, and Trevor Merszei in Malibu, CA (1998)

Malibu, CA

5.6

TV Series

created by (creator)

1998–2000

52 episodes

 

Nicholas Guest, Josh Holland, Elena Lyons, James Madio, Thomas Magiar, Kristen Miller, Marquita Terry, and Angela Visser in USA High (1997)

USA High

6.5

TV Series

created by (creator)

1997–1999

95 episodes

 

Elizabeth Berkley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Leanna Creel, Dustin Diamond, Dennis Haskins, Mario Lopez, and Lark Voorhies in Saved by the Bell (1989)

Saved by the Bell

7.1

TV Series

written by

teleplay by

1989–1992

12 episodes

 

Hayley Mills, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Max Battimo, T.K. Carter, Dustin Diamond, Dennis Haskins, Heather Hopper, Joan Ryan, and Lark Voorhies in Good Morning, Miss Bliss (1987)

Good Morning, Miss Bliss

6.7

TV Series

written by

1988

1 episode

 

Actor

Naked But Funny

5.7

TV Movie

2010

 

Nicholas Guest, Josh Holland, Elena Lyons, James Madio, Thomas Magiar, Kristen Miller, Marquita Terry, and Angela Visser in USA High (1997)

USA High

6.5

TV Series

Chancellor Engel

1999

1 episode

 

Leisure Suit Larry's Casino (1998)

Leisure Suit Larry's Casino

6.3

Video Game

DIck

Peter

Wang (German version, voice)

1998

 

Daniella Deutscher in Hang Time (1995)

Hang Time

7.0

TV Series

The Commissioner

1997

1 episode

 

Jonathan Angel, Natalia Cigliuti, Dennis Haskins, Bianca Lawson, Isaac Lidsky, Bonnie Russavage, and Robert Sutherland Telfer in Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993)

Saved by the Bell: The New Class

3.9

TV Series

Murray

1997

1 episode

 

Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! (1996)

Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail!

8.1

Video Game

Peter

Dick

Wang (German version, voice) ...

1996

 

Producer

Elizabeth Berkley, John Michael Higgins, Mario Lopez, Belmont Cameli, Dexter Darden, Josie Totah, Alycia Pascual-Pena, Haskiri Velazquez, and Mitchell Hoog in Saved by the Bell (2020)

Saved by the Bell

5.7

TV Series

executive producer

2020–2021

11 episodes

 

Last Comic Standing (2003)

Last Comic Standing

6.4

TV Series

executive producer

2004–2014

28 episodes

 

Frankie Bridge, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, Una Healy, The Saturdays, and Vanessa White in Chasing the Saturdays (2013)

Chasing the Saturdays

7.6

TV Series

executive producer

2013

 

Naked But Funny

5.7

TV Movie

executive producer

2010

 

The Next Best Thing: Who Is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator? (2007)

The Next Best Thing: Who Is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator?

6.5

TV Series

executive producer

2007

4 episodes

 

Life's Other Side

TV Movie

executive producer

2007

 

Goosehead TV

TV Special

executive producer

2002

 

Dionysio Basco, Steven Daniel, Marissa Dyan, Wesley Jonathan, Caitlin Mowrey, and Scott Whyte in City Guys (1997)

City Guys

7.1

TV Series

executive producer

producer

1997–2001

105 episodes

 

All About Us (2001)

All About Us

7.0

TV Series

executive producer

2001

13 episodes

 

One World (1998)

One World

6.6

TV Series

executive producer

1998–2001

39 episodes

 

Daniella Deutscher in Hang Time (1995)

Hang Time

7.0

TV Series

executive producer

1995–2000

104 episodes

 

Priscilla Inga Taylor, Edward Blatchford, Jason Hayes, Wendi Kenya, and Trevor Merszei in Malibu, CA (1998)

Malibu, CA

5.6

TV Series

executive producer

1998–2000

52 episodes

 

Jonathan Angel, Natalia Cigliuti, Dennis Haskins, Bianca Lawson, Isaac Lidsky, Bonnie Russavage, and Robert Sutherland Telfer in Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993)

Saved by the Bell: The New Class

3.9

TV Series

executive producer

1993–2000

143 episodes

 

Nicholas Guest, Josh Holland, Elena Lyons, James Madio, Thomas Magiar, Kristen Miller, Marquita Terry, and Angela Visser in USA High (1997)

USA High

6.5

TV Series

executive producer

1997–1999

95 episodes

 

California Dreams (1992)

California Dreams

7.0

TV Series

executive producer

1992–1996

78 episodes

 

Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen in Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas (1994)

Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas

6.2

TV Movie

executive producer

1994

 

Harvest for the Heart (1994)

Harvest for the Heart

6.1

TV Movie

executive producer

1994

 

Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Dustin Diamond, Bob Golic, Mario Lopez, Anne Tremko, and Kiersten Warren in Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993)

Saved by the Bell: The College Years

6.3

TV Series

executive producer

1993–1994

19 episodes

 

Elizabeth Berkley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Leanna Creel, Dustin Diamond, Dennis Haskins, Mario Lopez, and Lark Voorhies in Saved by the Bell (1989)

Saved by the Bell

7.1

TV Series

executive producer

1989–1992

86 episodes

 

Elizabeth Berkley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Dustin Diamond, Mario Lopez, and Lark Voorhies in Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style (1992)

Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style

6.1

TV Movie

executive producer

1992

 

Hayley Mills, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Max Battimo, T.K. Carter, Dustin Diamond, Dennis Haskins, Heather Hopper, Joan Ryan, and Lark Voorhies in Good Morning, Miss Bliss (1987)

Good Morning, Miss Bliss

6.7

TV Series

executive producer

1987–1989

14 episodes

 

No Earthly Reason

TV Movie

executive producer

1984

 

The 416th

TV Movie

producer

1979

 

The Paul Williams Show (1979)

The Paul Williams Show

TV Special

executive producer

1979

 

Sirota's Court

7.2

TV Series

producer (as Peter H. Engel)

1976–1977

13 episodes

 

Fran Brill, Suzanne Davidson, Jennifer Harmon, Michael Landrum, Lynn Lowry, and Rosemary Prinz in How to Survive a Marriage (1974)

How to Survive a Marriage

7.8

TV Series

executive producer

1974–1975

335 episodes

 

The Ice Palace (1971)

The Ice Palace

TV Series

executive producer

1971

8 episodes

 

Thanks

The First of Its Class: From Sitcom to Icon

Video

special thanks

2005

 

Self

Past Times at Bayside High- Making Saved by the Bell (2018)

Past Times at Bayside High- Making Saved by the Bell

Video

2018

 

Wendy Williams in The Wendy Williams Show (2008)

The Wendy Williams Show

3.3

TV Series

Self

2017

1 episode

 

Robin Baumgarten and Larry Potash in WGN Morning News (1994)

WGN Morning News

6.4

TV Series

Self

2016

1 episode

 

Saturday Morning: From Toons to Teens

Video

Self - Executive Producer

2013

 

Saved by the Bell: It's Alright - Back to the Bell

Video

Self - Executive Producer

2013

 

E! True Hollywood Story (1996)

E! True Hollywood Story

6.5

TV Series

Self - Producer

2009

1 episode

 

The First of Its Class: From Sitcom to Icon

Video

Self - Executive Producer

2005