The loss of a friend. Jason Priestley broke his silence days after his Beverly Hills, 90210 costar Luke Perry’s untimely death.
“It’s taken me a couple of days to figure out how to write this… My dear friend of 29 years, Luke Perry, was one of those truly special people who really cared…” the 49-year-old actor began in the early hours of Thursday, March 7, via Instagram. “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… If you had the good fortune to know Luke, or to have ever crossed his path, I know you are sad today as well.”
Priestley, who shared both a throwback photo and a more recent pic of the two actors, concluded: “The candle that burns twice as bright only burns for half as long… you burned oh, so brightly Luke… Goodnight Sweet Prince.”
Perry’s rep confirmed on Monday, March 4, that the 52-year-old actor had died following a massive stroke days earlier. The Riverdale star was surrounded by his fiancée, Wendy Madison Bauer, his ex-wife, Rachel “Minnie” Sharp, and the former spouses’ two children, son Jack, 20, and daughter Sophie, 18, at the time of his passing.
Perry portrayed Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210 alongside Priestley (Brandon Walsh) for the drama’s first six seasons. The 8 Seconds star returned to the hit Fox series in 1998 for the last two seasons.
Less than a week before Perry’s death, Fox announced that his former castmates, including Priestley,Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling, are set to return for a six-episode 90210 quasi-revival.
While neither Perry or Shannen Doherty had signed on to appear on the new series, a source revealed in the new issue of Us Weekly that the Charmed alum is reconsidering following her costar’s passing.
“Luke was Shannen’s favorite in the cast,” the source said. “She may participate now if they somehow pay homage to him.”
