On Monday, Riverdale and Beverly Hills 90210 star Luke Perry passed away from a stroke at the age of 52. His tragic death soon had health professionals reminding people that strokes do not exclusively affect the elderly, especially given that recent research suggests that heart disease is on the rise for many young Americans. His loss also spurred tributes from many of his friends and colleagues, who remember him as a man that was just as cool and kind as the iconic character that made him a '90s heartthrob.
While many A-list celebrities shared tweets about how kind and gracious the actor was, the most touching story was perhaps posted on Instagram by Colin Hanks—the son of Tom Hanks, who is best known for his work in the 2010 series The Good Guys and the hit '90s show Roswell.
On Monday night, Hanks wrote that he "only met [Perry] once but the story is too good not tell given todays sad events."
Hanks and his wife were on a plane back from Mexico when they saw two young brothers fighting two rows ahead of them.
"Their poor parents are powerless to stop the crying, yelling, and screaming," he wrote. "If you're a parent, you understand. Sometimes there's nothing you can do. It was like this for close to two hours."
The fighting started to get especially bad just before landing, when, "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."
The plane nearly burst into applause. Then, while waiting on line for customs, Hanks realizes that the Balloon Hero is none other than 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."
Indeed he was. And, as noted by Hanks, he's gone way too soon.
For more heartwarming stories about your favorite celebs, read about other times that celebrities have acted like real-life heroes.
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