Luke Perry: Fox Remembers ‘90210’ Actor After His Death

FOX Entertainment is morning the loss of Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Luke Perry following his death at the age of 52.

Perry passed away on Monday, March 4, after having been rushed to the hospital just days earlier after he suffered a “massive stroke.” Medical professionals made the decision to sedate him, but he never recovered. He passed away surrounded by his family.

“Luke will always be part of the FOX family,” the statement, provided to Entertainment Tonight, reads. “Our heart and prayers are with his loved ones during this extremely difficult time. He will be deeply missed.”

Perry had shot to fame on Beverly Hills, 90210, which ran for ten seasons on the network, originally airing from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000. On the series, he portrayed bad boy Dylan McKay from 1990-1995 and 1998-2000 alongside Shannen Doherty, who portrayed his on-screen love interest Brenda Walsh.

Although he hadn’t been signed on to return for the six-episode 90210 reboot, which will air on Fox this summer and see the returns of Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green, and Tori Spelling, he and Doherty had been working on “something special and meaningful” for fans that would feature both of them prior to his death.

While Perry had been a teenage heartthrob in the ’90s and early 2000s, he found wide appeal with a younger audience again after he was cast in The CW’s Riverdale, the live-action adaptation of the Archie Comics characters. Cast in the role as Fred Andrews, Archie’s father, in 2016, he quickly became a fan-favorite over the course of the series’ first three seasons.

Following news of his death, fans of the series, including the Riverdale writers, flocked to social media to remember the late actor.

“Luke Perry… you were a joyful and vibrant soul,” the official Twitter account for the Riverdale writers room wrote. “You will be missed but most certainly your legacy will be remembered forever. Rest in love and peace, friend. #Riverdale.”

In a joint statement, executive producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Jon Goldwater, as well as Warner Bros. TV and The CW, remembered Perry as a “beloved member” of the family.

“We are deeply saddened to learn today about the passing of Luke Perry,” the statement read in part. “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.”

Perry’s final on-screen appearance will be as Scott Lancer in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which is set around the time of the Manson Family murders. The film is scheduled for a July 26, 2019 release.