Luke Perry‘s 53rd birthday was on Friday, Oct. 11, prompting emotional tributes from his children, daughter Sophie and, son Jack. Perry died suddenly on March 4 following a massive stroke on Feb. 27 at age 52. The messages from his children capped off a difficult week for Perry fans, as the first Riverdale premiere without the beloved Beverly Hills, 90210 actor aired on Wednesday.
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Sophie, 19, shared a fun post, with a picture of her father giving her a hug. The second slide in the post revealed the full photo, showing Perry wearing shorts.
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“Happy birthday, fashion icon,” Sophie wrote. “I can hear you doing your best Tim Gunn impersonation now. Love you the most.”
Jack, 22, shared a collage made using various photos of Perry taken throughout his life.
“Happy birthday, old man. I’ll see you somewhere,” Jack, a professional wrestler who uses the name “Jungle Boy,” wrote, adding a heart emoji.
Since their father’s death, Jack and Sophie have shared several tributes to him on their Instagram pages. Jack also opened up to Entertainment Tonight about his father’s legacy in June.
“The thing that I’m most proud of about my dad, always, is that he was a really good guy,” Jack told ET at the time. “And you know, not everyone got the chance to know him. But I think the outreach and support, I think, it kind of shows that. I’m happy to see it. He was loved by everybody and it’s nice to see that from everybody and it’s a nice thing.”
Jack also admitted it was difficult to share his grief with the world.
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“I appreciate it. I knew him, obviously, in a way that no one else did,” Jack said. “So I can’t relate fully to… not everyone gets it. I think everyone gets it in their own way, and that’s nice to see. I think everyone gets it in their own way.”
Perry’s final film role was in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, making a memorable appearance as the real-life actor Wayne Maunder in a scene with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton. Perry also starred in The CW’s Riverdale, playing Fred Andrews, Archie’s father.
The Riverdale Season 4 premiere, “In Memoriam,” revealed Fred’s cause of death. In typical Fred fashion, he tried to help someone whose car had stalled. Another car sped by the scene, hitting Fred and killing him instantly.
“I think it is cathartic for people who have seen the show… and hopefully it’s cathartic for people who have emotional ties to Luke as well,” Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told Entertainment Tonight. “Another kind of different thing that we chose to do was not include a ‘previously on.’ We actually had one and The CW very wisely said, ‘You know what? Don’t include it. Use the extra time for the episode; even a minute is precious. And let it be kind of special.’”
New episodes of Riverdale air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
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