Life of Luke Perry

 Coy Luther "Luke" Perry III (October 11, 1966 – March 4, 2019) was an American actor. He became a teen idol for playing Dylan McKay on the Fox television series Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990 to 1995, and again from 1998 to 2000. He also starred as Fred Andrews on the CW series Riverdale. He had guest roles on notable shows such as Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Simpsons, and Will & Grace, as well as a recurring role as Rick Jones in The Incredible Hulk (1996-1997) from Marvel Comics, and also starred in several films, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), 8 Seconds (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), The Beat Beneath my Feet (2016), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), which was his final feature performance.

Early life

Luke Perry was born on October 11, 1966, in Mansfield, Ohio, the second of three children to Ann Perry, a homemaker, and Coy Luther Perry Jr., a steelworker. He had an older brother, Thomas Perry, and a younger sister, Amy Coder (nee Perry). His parents divorced in 1972. His biological father died of a heart attack in 1980. Perry was raised in Fredericktown, Ohio, and played Freddie Bird, the school mascot for Fredericktown High School.

Career

Beginnings

In 1984, Perry moved to Los Angeles shortly after high school to pursue acting. He worked odd jobs, including for an asphalt paving company and in a doorknob factory. He appeared in the 1985 music video of "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" for the band Twisted Sister, and by 1988, Perry auditioned for 256 acting jobs before receiving his first acceptance. After moving to New York, Perry's earliest roles were on daytime soap operas: one episode of Loving (1987–1988) and ten episodes of Another World (1988–1989).

Rise to fame: Beverly Hills, 90210 era

In 1990, Perry got the role of the brooding millionaire's son Dylan McKay on Fox's teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210. He originally auditioned for the role of Steve Sanders but lost to Ian Ziering. With this role, Perry became a popular teen idol; a riot broke out when 10,000 teen girls attended an August 1991 autograph session at The Fashion Mall at Plantation, causing him to leave after 90 seconds. While starring in 90210, Perry had a supporting role in the original film version of Joss Whedon's Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992). He also starred in Terminal Bliss in 1992 and as Lane Frost in 8 Seconds in 1994.

In an attempt to find more mature roles, he decided to leave Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1995. That year, he took a part in the Italian film Vacanze di Natale '95, playing himself. Although he announced that 90210 was behind him, his absence lasted for only three years, and he returned to the show in 1998. During this time, Perry starred in the independent film Normal Life opposite Ashley Judd, starred in the science fiction television film Invasion (1997), and Riot (1997), a drama about the 1992 Los Angeles riots. He had a small role in Luc Besson's science fiction adventure film The Fifth Element (1997). In 1998, he returned to 90210, where he remained as a permanent special guest star through the show's final season in 2000. In 1999, he starred in the film Storm.

He said of his role on Beverly Hills, 90210 as Dylan McKay: "I'm going to be linked with him until I die, but that's actually just fine. I created Dylan McKay. He's mine," but did not reprise his role in the spin-off. He stated: "When you're in the professional acting business, you have to look into all these offers, and I don't mean anything bad about it but creatively it's something I have done before and I don't know how it will benefit me if I do it again." Perry said the fact that the show's longtime producer Aaron Spelling was not involved in the revival was critical: "The difference between CW bringing something back and Aaron Spelling doing something is significant. And I cannot do it without Aaron." However, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, and Tori Spelling reprised their roles in the 2008 revival of the series.

Later work

From 2001 to 2002, he starred in the HBO prison drama Oz, as Reverend Jeremiah Cloutier. From 2002 to 2004, he starred in the post-apocalyptic television series Jeremiah. Perry went on to star in a 2002 television film called The Triangle. In 2006, Perry co-starred in the ensemble drama series Windfall, about a group of friends who win the lottery. The series ran for 13 episodes during the summer of 2006 on NBC. In 2007, he landed the role of Tommy "Santa" Santorelli on the film The Sandlot: Heading Home and he appeared in the 2008 western A Gunfighter's Pledge. Perry also appeared in the 2007 HBO series John from Cincinnati. He also starred in the Swedish film Äntligen Midsommar (Finally Midsummer), which was released in the summer of 2009.

Perry did considerable voice-over work for various animated series, usually playing himself. He played himself (as Krusty the Clown's half-brother) in "Krusty Gets Kancelled", an episode of The Simpsons (1993). He voiced himself in an episode of Johnny Bravo, giving Johnny dating advice after Johnny saved him from a stampede of fan girls. Perry parodied himself in "The Story on Page One", an episode of Family Guy, in which he sues Peter Griffin for calling him gay in a newspaper article. His other voice work includes The Incredible Hulk as Rick Jones, Biker Mice from Mars (which also starred fellow 90210 co-star Ian Ziering), Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, and The Night of the Headless Horseman.

Perry guest-starred as gay characters in the sitcoms Spin City (1997) and Will & Grace (2005); in the former, he appeared as Carter Heywood's ex-boyfriend who subsequently fell in love with a woman, and in the latter, he played a geeky birdwatcher who catches the eye of Jack McFarland. In 2005, Perry was reunited with former 90210 co-star Jennie Garth when he guest-starred on What I Like About You in a loose parody of their 90210 characters' relationship. In 2008, Perry guest-starred as rapist Noah Sibert in the season premiere of the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He also guest-starred as cult leader Benjamin Cyrus in an episode of Criminal Minds. In late 2009, Perry starred in The Killers' music video for their fourth annual Christmas single, "¡Happy Birthday Guadalupe!".

The same year, Perry participated in Thomas Nelson's audio Bible production known as The Word of Promise. In this dramatized audio, Perry played both Saint Stephen and Judas Iscariot. The project also featured a large ensemble of other well-known Hollywood actors, including Jim Caviezel, Louis Gossett Jr., John Rhys-Davies, Jon Voight, Gary Sinise, Jason Alexander, Christopher McDonald, Marisa Tomei, Stacy Keach, and John Schneider.

Perry appeared on Broadway in 2001 in a revival of The Rocky Horror Show, playing Brad Majors. In 2004, he appeared in the London production of When Harry Met Sally ... as Harry, alongside Alyson Hannigan as Sally. He played a con man/psychic in a second-season episode of Leverage in 2010, and then appeared as the American version of Inspector Spacetime in an episode of Community in 2013, titled "Conventions of Space and Time".

From 2017 until his death in 2019, Perry starred as Frederick "Fred" Andrews, Archie's father and owner of Andrews Construction, on the CW series Riverdale. Starting with "Chapter Forty-Nine: Fire Walk with Me", the first episode to air following his death, all new episodes of the series for that season were dedicated to him. At the time of his death on March 4, 2019, there were still four unaired episodes featuring Perry that would air in the remainder of Season 3. He played actor Wayne Maunder in the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, about 1960s Hollywood around the time of the Tate-LaBianca murders. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, it was Perry's final film role.

Personal life

Perry married Rachel Minnie Sharp on November 20, 1993, in Beverly Hills. They had two children, son Jack Perry (born June 16, 1997) and daughter Sophie Perry (born June 7, 2000), before separating in 2003. Jack is a professional wrestler, known by his ring name Jungle Boy, and is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Perry became an advocate for colorectal cancer testing after undergoing a colonoscopy in 2015 that revealed pre-cancerous growths. As a result of the scare, he created a will naming his children as the sole beneficiaries.

At the time of his death, Perry was engaged to Wendy Madison Bauer, a therapist and former part-time actress.

Death

Perry suffered a massive ischemic stroke at his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, on February 27, 2019. After a second stroke, his family decided to remove him from life support, and he died on March 4, 2019, at age 52 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. He was buried at the Perry Family Farm in Vanleer, Tennessee, where he had owned a home since 1995. Perry was buried in an eco-friendly mushroom burial suit which the manufacturer states is able to remove polluting toxins from the body while naturally breaking it down.

In the aftermath of his death, the Reelz channel announced a documentary titled Luke Perry: In His Own Words. As a result of his death, his Riverdale character Fred Andrews also died, and the fourth season premiere was a tribute episode dedicated to him and his character, featuring his Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Shannen Doherty.

Filmography

Television

1982       Voyagers!           Union Prisoner  Episode: "The Day the Rebs Took Lincoln"

1988       Loving   Ned Bates           Unknown episode

1988–1989           Another World  Kenny   10 episodes

1990–1995;

1998–2000           Beverly Hills, 90210          Dylan McKay      199 episodes

1993       Saturday Night Live         Himself (host)   Episode: "Luke Perry/Mick Jagger"

The Simpsons    Himself Voice, episode: "Krusty Gets Kancelled"

1994–1995;

2007       Biker Mice from Mars    Napoleon Brie   Voice, 7 episodes

1996       Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm              Sub-Zero             Voice, 13 episodes

1996–1997           The Incredible Hulk         Rick Jones           Voice, 4 episodes

1997       Spin City               Spence                 Episode: "Kiss Me, Stupid"

Riot        Boomer                Television film

Invasion               Beau Stark          Television film

1999       The Night of the Headless Horseman      Brom Bones       Voice, television film

1999–2000           Pepper Ann        Stewart Waldinger          Voice, 3 episodes

2000       Johnny Bravo     Himself Voice, episode: "Luke Perry's Guide to Love"

Family Guy          Himself                 Voice, episode: "The Story on Page One"

2001       Night Visions      Dr. Michael Sears             Episode: "Now He's Coming Up the Stairs"

The Triangle       Stu Sheridan      Television film

2001–2002           Oz           Rev. Jeremiah Cloutier  10 episodes

2002       Johnson County War      Harry Hammett   Television film

2002–2004           Jeremiah             Jeremiah             35 episodes

2003       Clone High          Ponce de León  Voice, episode: "Litter Kills - Literally"

2005       Will & Grace       Aaron    Episode: “The Birds and the Bees”

What I Like About You   Todd      3 episodes

Descent               Dr. Jake Rollins  Television film

Supernova          Dr. Chris Richardson        Television film

2006       Windfall               Peter Schaefer  13 episodes

2007       John from Cincinnati       Linc Stark             10 episodes

2008       Law & Order: Special Victims Unit             Noah Sibert        Episode: "Trials"

A Gunfighter's Pledge    Matt Austin Television film

A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride        Charlie  Television film

2008;

2018       Criminal Minds  Benjamin Cyrus                2 episodes

2009       The Storm           Stillman                2 episodes

Angel and the Badman  Laredo Stevens Television film

2010       Leverage             Dalton Rand       Episode: "The Future Job"

Generator Rex  Jacob     Voice, episode: "The Architect"

FCU: Fact Checkers Unit                Luke      8 episodes

2011       Pound Puppies Fang      Voice, episode: "Rebel Without a Collar"

Goodnight for Justice     John Goodnight                Television film

2012       Goodnight for Justice: The Measure of a Man    John Goodnight                Television film

Goodnight for Justice: Queen of Hearts John Goodnight                Television film

Raising Hope      Ghost of Arbor Day         Episode: "Arbor Daze"

2012–2013           Body of Proof    CDC Officer Dr. Charlie Stafford                 5 episodes

2013       Community        American Inspector Spacetime Episode: "Conventions of Space and Time"

2014       Major Crimes     Jon Worth           Episode: "Cutting Loose"

Hot in Cleveland               Trevor   Episode: "The Bachelors"

2015       Welcome Home               Stewart Paylor  Television film

Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise      Richard Steele   Television film

2016       Love in Paradise               Avery Ford          Television film

The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness            Himself                 Episode: "The 90s"

2017–2019;

2021       Riverdale             Fred Andrews   46 episodes (Season 5 Ep 3: Archival footage)

2019       BH90210               Dylan McKay      (fragment in the pilot series)

Film

1991       Scorchers            Ray Ray               

1992       Terminal Bliss     John Hunter      

Buffy the Vampire Slayer             Oliver Pike         

1994       8 Seconds            Lane Frost          

1995       Vacanze di Natale '95 (Christmas Holidays '95)    Himself

1996       Normal Life         Chris Anderson

American Strays               Johnny

1997       The Fifth Element            Billy Masterson

Last Breath         Martin Devoe   

1998       Indiscreet            Michael Nash    

1999       The Heist             Jack       

The Florentine  Frankie

Storm    Dr. Ron Young   Direct-to-video

2000       Attention Shoppers        Mark Pinnalore

2001       The Enemy         Dr. Michael Ashton

Dirt         Attorney

2002       Fogbound           Bob

2003       Down the Barrel               David     Direct-to-video

2005       Dishdogz              Tony     

2007       The Sandlot: Heading Home        Tommy "Santa" Santorelli            Direct-to-video

Alice Upside Down          Ben McKinley   

2009       Äntligen midsommar!    Sam      

Upstairs               Ward Weaver   

Silent Venom     Lt. Cmdr. James O'Neill  Direct-to-video

Sam Steele and the Junior Detective Agency       The Cat

2010       Redemption Road           Boyd     

The Final Storm Silas Hendershot              Direct-to-video

Hanna's Gold     Cole      

Good Intentions               Chester Milford               

2013       Red Wing             Carl Blanton       

Scoot and Kassie's Christmas Adventure               Paul Stevenson

2014       Beat Beneath My Feet  Max Stone

A Fine Step         Cal Masterson  

2015       Dudes & Dragons             Lorash  

2018       The Griddle House          Older Jack          

2019       Once Upon a Time in Hollywood               Wayne Maunder              Final film role; posthumous release

Music videos

1985       "Be Chrool to Your Scuel"              Twisted Sister    Unknown           

2009       "¡Happy Birthday Guadalupe!" The Killers featuring Wild Light and Mariachi El Bronx       The Cowboy