Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling Reveal How the ‘90210’ Reboot Stars Honored Luke Perry

Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth are opening up about how the cast of the Beverly Hills, 90210 mourned Luke Perry while filming the reboot series, sharing just how hard they were hit by the sudden death of their friend in March 2019 after he suffered a massive stroke at the age of 52 on the latest episode of the 90210MG podcast.

“It still doesn’t feel real,” Spelling said while discussing Perry’s iconic role of Dylan McKay in the hit teen drama. “I still don’t accept it, in a weird way,” Garth responded. Perry’s death was a shock to everyone around him, and came just months ahead of the BH90210 reboot beginning to film. “When we first got together for the first promo shoot, there was a moment, it was heartbreaking, where Ian [Ziering] slipped,” Spelling shared. “We were waiting for all of us, and we, you know, we count — it’s like when you have kids and you count your kids — there’s always eight of us, and you count. Ian turned around and said, ‘Where’s Luke?’ and then I saw him catch himself, and he turned away.”

“I could see his heartbreaking and he started to cry,” she continued. “But it was what we were all thinking though. We didn’t feel complete, and we still don’t.” The two co-stars went on to share just how much of an impact Perry had on everyone around him, with Spelling saying was “just as special” as everyone “thought he was, or wanted him to be, and even more so.” Garth added that he and his character were very similar in many ways. “Luke is such an of-the-Earth human being,” she shared. “With Luke, you loved him the minute you met him and you were engaged with his charisma. But it wasn’t over-the-top, it was just this calm, easy vibe.”

Perry wasn’t originally planned to star in the BH90210 reboot, as he was also starring on Riverdale at the time of his death, but was expected to make a guest appearance with his former castmates. In the revival’s premiere, the cast paid tribute to their friend with a moment of silence and a toast in his honor after they reunited.

Ziering told Entertainment Tonight ahead of the episode of figuring out the perfect way to honor Perry, “That’s very challenging. It’s a personal thing. We all were very close to him. Luke was a best friend to me, not just when we were on 90210 but even before that. I knew him from when we were doing soap operas in Los Angeles. …So it continues to be challenging and it’s always very difficult, but we will find a way to do it right.”