Celebrities Share Their Memories of Luke Perry Following His Death

Photo credit: Gabriel Olsen - Getty Images
Photo credit: Gabriel Olsen - Getty Images

From Men's Health

Luke Perry's current and former cast-mates, as well as many other celebrities, are mourning the actor after his tragic death at 52 years old.

Perry, known for his roles as Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Fred Andrews on Riverdale, died Monday morning of a massive stroke, his rep confirmed in a statement to ET. Perry was first hospitalized for a stroke last Wednesday.

"He was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancé Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends," the statement said. "The family appreciates the outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Luke from around the world, and respectfully request privacy in this time of great mourning. No further details will be released at this time."

According to Variety, Riverdale shut down production for the day. The outlet also published a statement from executive producers Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and Jon Goldwater, along with Warner Bros. Television and the CW:

"We are deeply saddened to learn today about the passing of Luke Perry. 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."

Meanwhile, plenty of stars are turning to social media to share their fondest memories of Perry, and how deeply they will miss him and his "unmatched kindness," as Riverdale star Casey Cott (who plays Kevin Keller) put it.

Here is how celebrities are reacting to Perry's death:

I only met him once but the story is too good not tell given todays sad events. My wife and I are on a plane back from Mexico. Couple of rows ahead of us, these two brothers, young kids, are beating the hell out of eachother. Their poor parents are powerless to stop the crying, yelling and screaming. If you're a parent you understand. Sometimes there's nothing you can do. It was like this for close to two hours. Then about 10 minutes before landing it starts to get real bad. Out of no where, a man comes from first class. Hat, beard, sunglasses, blowing up a balloon. He ties it off, hands it off like he's holding out a sword to a king. Kneeling, Head down, arms up. Kids calm down in milliseconds. Plane damn near bursts into applause. 15 minutes longer and it probably would have started WWIII, but we landed before that could happen. We get off the plane, are waiting on line in customs. Finally get a good look at the guy and I say to my wife "Holy shit. I think that balloon man/hero" is Luke Perry". As luck would have it we end up standing next to each other. Out of the blue he turns to me and says some kind words about Fargo, which kinda blew my mind. I start singing his praises about how long I've admired him and also about the move with the balloon. "That's a pro move! You can't teach that!" I say. He tells me he always flies with a couple of balloons for that very reason, to give to screaming kids. Don't know if that's true, but have no reason to believe it wasn't. Guy seemed like a true gent. Gone way too damn soon. Also, I'll be damned if I don't start traveling with some spare balloons ?????? #promove #rip #lukeperry #truegent

A post shared by Colin Hanks (@colinhanks) on Mar 4, 2019 at 6:34pm PST

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A post shared by Busy Philipps (@busyphilipps) on Mar 4, 2019 at 10:00am PST

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