‘Haunting of Hill House’ Director Honors Luke Perry With Tribute: ‘So Young, Such a Shock’

The Haunting of Hill House director Mike Flanagan is paying tribute to the late Luke Perry.

After news broke Monday that the Riverdale actor had passed away at the age of 52 in a California hospital following a massive stroke, Flanagan, currently tapped to direct The Haunting of Bly Manor, joined the round of celebrities and fans mourning Perry’s loss on social media.

“Stunned and deeply saddened to hear about Luke Perry’s passing,” he wrote. “So young, such a shock. Much love to his friends and family, I can only imagine how hard this must be.”

Flanagan’s remarks were met with a sea of similar messages from fans, who were also shocked by the reports of Perry’s passing.

“It always breaks my heart to see someone so young go… may he RIP,” one person wrote.

“Just saddening may he Rest In Peace,” another commented.

First rising to fame in the ’90s as teenage heartthrob Dylan McKay on the FOX drama Beverly Hills, 90210, in which he starred opposite Shannen Doherty’s Brenda Walsh, Perry found appeal among a younger audience upon his casting in The CW’s Riverdale. Taking on the role of Fred Andrews, the father of Archie Andrews, in 2016, he quickly became a fan-favorite.

“We are deeply saddened to learn today about the passing of Luke Perry,” a joint statement from Riverdale executive producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Jon Goldwater, as well as Warner Bros. TV and The CW, read. “A beloved member of the Riverdale, Warner Bros. and CW family, Luke was everything you would hope he would be: an incredibly caring, consummate professional with a giant heart, and a true friend to all.”

“A father figure and mentor to the show’s young cast, Luke was incredibly generous, and he infused the set with love and kindness. Our thoughts are with Luke’s family during this most difficult time,” the statement concluded.

Perry passed away on Monday, March 4, just five days after he was rushed to a Burbank, California, hospital after suffering a massive stroke. Although he had been placed under heavy sedation in the hopes that his brain would recover, he “wasn’t doing well.” His family, including his two children, Jack and Sophie, his fiancée, Wendy Madison Bauer, and his ex-wife, Rachel “Minnie” Sharp made the “difficult” decision to take the actor off of life support.

Perry’s final on-screen credit is in Quentin Tarantino’s Manson family murder-centered film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which is scheduled for a July 26, 2019 release.