The original stars of Beverly Hills, 90210 were gearing up to launch a revival of the original series when Luke Perry suffered a fatal stroke in March 2019. Just two months later, the stars started filming without Perry—who had been involved in the revival's development—but production wasn't without its challenges. Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling revealed the "heartbreaking" moment when costar Ian Ziering broke down over Perry while filming the revival. Read on for more about how Perry's absence was felt during filming, and for news about another beloved star who recently passed, Ryan Reynolds Shares the Last Conversation He Had With Alex Trebek.
Ian Ziering slipped up and asked for Luke Perry while filming the revival.
ShutterstockPerry, who famously starred as Dylan McKay in the original series, was beloved by most of the world, including his 90210 cast mates. He was so loved, in fact, that Spelling recalled Ziering slipped and asked for him while filming the revival, BH90210.
"There’s always eight of us and you count, and Ian turned around and said, ‘Where’s Luke?’ And then I just saw him catch himself," Spelling said during the Nov. 23 episode of 90210MG, the podcast she co-hosts with Garth. "He turned away and I could just see his heart breaking and he started to cry. It was what we were all thinking though. We didn’t feel complete. And we still don't." And for more on the beloved actor, Colin Hanks Just Shared the Most Touching Story About Luke Perry.
Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling have been talking about Luke Perry on their podcast.
ShutterstockOn the podcast, Garth and Spelling are going back through the original show episode by episode for the first time. During the third episode of the podcast, they rewatched and discussed the second episode of Beverly Hills, 90210—the episode in which Perry's character was first introduced.
"Seeing this episode, it takes you back to the moment and you almost are into it and you feel like you don’t have to accept that he’s gone," Spelling said. Garth agreed, saying she didn't want the episode to end because it felt like Perry was still there. And for more adored celebs from this time, revisit The Biggest '90s TV Teen Idols, Then and Now.
And they say it's still hard to accept Perry's death.
AlamyGarth said that this podcast was the "first time" she had really publicly talked about Perry's death, saying it's hard as she still doesn't really "accept" his death.
"Obviously, you guys can tell we had a lot of love for him and it’s a hard thing to navigate. I guess none of us ever thought we would get to that point where one of us would be gone. That’s not something you think about in life," Spelling said. "You just feel that emptiness." And for more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter.
But they say that fans really got a sense of who Perry was through his character.
CBS Television DistributionWhile viewers never got a behind-the-scenes look at Perry on the original show, both Garth and Spelling thought that fans really picked up on who Perry was through his character. "He was just as special as they all thought he was or wanted him to be," Spelling said.
"You saw a lot of who Luke Perry really was," Garth said. "[He and Dylan] were very similar in their makeups. With Luke, you loved him the minute you met him, you were just engaged by his charisma, but it wasn’t over-the-top, it was just like this really calm, easy vibe that he would give off to everyone, and I think that Dylan did that, too. And that’s why America and the world fell in love with him." And for more actors who really stuck to certain characters, check out these Actors Who Played the Same Character Years Later.
