Jason Priestley, who co-starredon “Beverly Hills, 90210” with Luke Perry, is the latest cast member to discuss the death of the actor. Priestley, 49, shared with Perry two pictures of himself: one of their “90210” days and one more recently taken. He also wrote his long-time friend a touching tribute.
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“It’s taken me a couple of days to figure out how to write this,” Priestley wrote in an Instagram post Thursday. “My dear friend of 29 years, Luke Perry, was one of those truly special people who really cared… Luke was not only a star, he was an incredibly bright light that was extinguished far too soon… and that is why I, and so many others, are in so much pain today.”
Priestley and Perry starred as Brandon Walsh and Dylan McKay, respectively, on “90210.” The two characters were great friends later moved into a love triangle with Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), sparking her infamous “I’ve made my choice and I choose me” speech.
“If you had the good fortune to know Luke, or to have ever crossed his path, I know you are sad today as well,” Preistley added. “The candle that burns twice as bright only burns for half as long… you burned oh, so brightly Luke… Goodnight Sweet Prince.”
Tiffani Thiessen, who played Valerie Malone, a family pal of the Walshes, mourned “the loss of a man who started as my co-star but quickly became my friend.”
The actress, who joined the show in 1994 after Shannen Doherty left, remembered how Perry “welcomed me on my very first day of #90210 with open arms. A day that was not an easy one for me. I was coming in to a show, a family really, that had been together for over 4 years. But this man took me under his wing and made me feel at home. Made me feel like I belonged in his TV family.”
She added, “Luke, our world has a hole in it now that you aren’t here. But heaven definitely gained you as an angel.”
Priestley and Thiessen joined a growing number of “90210” stars sharing fond memories and emotions over Perry’s passing. Shannen Doherty, who played Perry’s original love interest, wrote on Instagram that “processing this is impossible right now.”
Tori Spelling told sources she was “heartbroken” and “saddened for his kids whom he adored beyond words.” Ian Ziering said that he will “forever bask in the loving memories we’ve shared over the last thirty years.”
Perry died when he “suffered a massive stroke,” his representative, Arnold Robinson, told USA TODAY on Monday.
Less than a week before, Fox announced plans for a “Beverly Hills, 90210” reboot, though Perry had not been slated to return. The six-episode summer series will feature Priestley, Garth, Ziering, Spelling, Gabrielle Carteris and Brian Austin Green.
