Tori Spelling paid tribute to her father, the late television producer Aaron Spelling, who would have turned 95 on Sunday.
“Today is the birthday of my hero,” Spelling wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of herself with her father as a little girl. “A creative genius that touched the lives of everyone he came into contact with. An inspiration on every level. The kindest and most gentle soul ever.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
She continued, “He was loved by all but I’m lucky because I got to call him Dad. Happy Birthday Daddy. We were all blessed to have had the time we had with you. Toto xoxo.”
Spelling’s mother, writer and producer Candy Spelling, also paid tribute to her late husband on Instagram.
“Remembering the most wonderful husband and father on his birthday,” Candy Spelling wrote. “Aaron loved life and cherished all those around him! He would have been 95 years old today.”
Aaron Spelling was a prolific television producer who died after a stroke in 2006 at age 83. The Television Hall of Famer’s long list of credits include Charlie’s Angels, 7th Heaven, Dynasty, The Love Boat and Charmed. He was also a producer on Beverly Hills, 90210, the show that made his daughter a star. He won Emmys for the TV movie And The Band Played On (1993) and the special Day One (1989). Aaron Spelling also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
According to PEOPLE, Spelling had a difficult relationship with her parents and only inherited $800,000 from her father’s $500 million estate. She told the magazine in 2006 she reconciled with her father before his death.
“I’m grateful I recently had the opportunity to reconcile with my father and most grateful we had the chance to tell each other we loved one another before he passed away,” Spelling said at the time. “It’s a true blessing to have had a parent that loved me unconditionally. He had a heart as big as his talent and today, along with many others, I mourn his loss. He was a great man and even better father.”
Spelling has recently been in the headlines after going through a rough patch emotionally and reportedly running into financial problems. In March, police were called to Spelling’s home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles multiple times. Despite her troubles with husband Dean McDermott and financial woes, the couple went to a ski resort earlier this month.
“She is obsessed with trying to make her relationship with Dean work despite all their issues. Her breakdown came after she and Dean had been fighting,” a source told Entertainment Tonight recently. “She literally was hysterical and, sadly, the kids were home and everyone was scared… She is under far too much pressure.”
Spelling and McDermott are parents to five children – Liam, 10; Stella, 9; Hattie, 6; Finn, 5; and Beau, 1.
