Luke Perry: ‘Riverdale’ Star KJ Apa Shares Heartwarming Tribute to On-Screen Dad

Luke Perry’s Riverdale co-star, KJ Apa, shared another tribute to the late actor on Thursday morning, about two weeks after Perry died from a massive stroke.

In the photo, which Apa shared without a caption, Perry looks back at the camera with a smile while overlooking a pen of cattle, most likely on his Tennessee farm he purchased in the 1990s. He wears a large white cowboy hat, a white T-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans.

Fans immediately took to the photo to share their condolences with the 21-year-old actor, who played Riverdale‘s main character, Archie. Perry played Archie’s father, Fred Andrews.

“Rest in paradise you legend!” one Instagram user wrote.

“Rest easy Luke. Heaven is a better place now because they have you,” another wrote.

“My heart is broken again,” someone else said.

“What a beautiful angel,” one person wrote.

A few days after Perry’s death, Apa shared a screenshot from his phone showing that he was listening to “The Background” by Third Eye Blind. The song’s first lyrics are “Everything is quiet, since you’re not around. And I live in the numbness now. In the background.”

Later, the New Zealand-born actor shared a photo of Perry on a lake with a smile on his face.

“Rest in love bro,” Apa captioned the photo.

Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Scasa told Entertainment Tonight on Sunday that the cast and crew of The CW drama are still “in shock” over Perry’s passing.

“You know, honestly, we are I think all still in shock and are all still processing and grieving,” he said, adding that no official decisions have been made on how to address Perry’s death on the show.

“We know that we have to address it in some way, but we’re giving ourselves a little bit of time and space before we figure out the best way to honor him,” he said.

He added that Perry’s “wise and vivacious” spirit will continue to live on throughout the show.

“Luke was, is, and will always be a big part of Riverdale,” he said. “We’re kind of a family and when a loss like this happens, you carry it always. It changes and it hopefully becomes a little less painful as time goes by, but you’re changed.”

“When I was with the crew, I said, ‘It will never be the same,’ and that’s true because Luke was such a part of the show.” Aguirre-Sacasa continued, “There are still a few more episodes that have Luke in them, so we’re glad to share those.”

“His spirit — which was so generous and wise and vivacious — we hope will infuse every episode, so in my mind, every episode for the rest of time on Riverdale will have a bit of Luke in it,” he said.

Perry died on Monday, March 4 following a massive stroke five days earlier at the age of 52. He is survived by his ex-wife Rachel “Minnie” Sharp, his children Jack, 21, and Sophie, 18, his fianceé Wendy Madison Bauer, his mother Ann Bennett, his step-father Steve Bennett and siblings Tom Perry and Amy Coder.

“The family appreciates the outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Luke from around the world, and respectfully request privacy in this time of great mourning. No further details will be released at this time,” Perry’s publicist said in a statement.