Actor Luke Perry has passed away at only 52 years old, following a massive stroke. Perry gained worldwide fame with his role as Dylan McKay on the 1990-2000 TV series “Beverley Hills, 90210.” He also starred in the classic rodeo film “8 Seconds,” which was filmed in part in the Texas Hill Country. Perry suffered a stroke on February 27, 2019, at his home in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, California. He passed away on Monday, March 4, with his family and friends at his bedside.
Born in 1966, Luke Perry grew up in a rural area of Ohio. His mother was a homemaker, and his father made a living as a steelworker. Perry left Ohio in order to pursue his acting career after high school. He supported himself by working as a paver while seeking acting opportunities. He auditioned for 215 acting jobs before being cast in a music video for Twisted Sister’s “Be Chrool to Your Scuel.” Daytime soap opera roles followed, then finally he was cast as the brooding rebel Dylan McKay on “Beverley Hills 90210.”
Photo: Facebook/Riverdale
Luke Perry starred as tragic rodeo legend Lane Frost in the 1994 movie “8 Seconds.” The movie featured filming locations in Boerne, San Antonio, Helotes, Seguin, and Del Rio, Texas. Perry’s voice acting can be heard in the Thomas Nelson audio production “The Word of Promise.” This biblical dramatization with an ensemble cast of famous actors featured Perry playing Saint Stephen and Judas the disciple. Up to the time of his death, Perry was a star of the popular series “Riverdale,” a dark adaptation of the “Archie Comics.”
Perry’s marriage to Rachel Minnie Sharp lasted from 1993 to 2003, and the couple had two children together, Jack and Sophie. His ex-wife and children were at his bedside when Perry passed away, as were Perry’s fiancée Wendy Madison Bauer, Perry’s mother, stepfather, and siblings.
Photo: Flickr/photo by Alan Light
Perry suffered the stroke on the same day that a reboot of “Beverley Hills 90210” was announced to the public. The actor wasn’t attached to the new project, although his old co-stars Ian Ziering, Jason Priestley, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth, and Gabrielle Carteris will once again be playing their characters. Shannon Doherty, Perry’s on-screen love interest in the classic ’90s series, was reportedly in contact with him following the hospitalization. She told Entertainment Tonight that she couldn’t talk about it because, “I will literally start crying… But I love him and he knows I love him…” Luke Perry will have a final, posthumous role in the upcoming Quintin Tarantino film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” a crime thriller centered around the Manson Family murders. His role is that of real-life actor Wayne Maunder, who co-starred on the western series “Lancer.”
