Luke Perry, best known for his roles on TV shows Beverly Hills, 90210 and Riverdale, died on Monday at the age of 52 after suffering a massive stroke last week.
A representative for the actor released a statement on Monday afternoon.
“Actor Luke Perry, 52, passed away today after suffering a massive stroke,” the statement reads. “He was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancee Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, stepfather Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends.”
The star was taken to a hospital in Burbank, California, on Wednesday last week after suffering a stroke at home in Sherman Oaks, on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
The statement continued: “The family appreciates the outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Luke from around the world, and respectfully request privacy in this time of great mourning. No further details will be released at this time.”
Fellow actors, including those who had starred with him on Beverly Hills, 90210, where his career took off in the early 1990s as a teen heartthrob, had rushed to social media last week to post messages of love and hope that Perry would recover.
Shannen Doherty, who co-starred with Perry on the series, posted on Instagram last week a picture of the two in the show and the message “you got this”.
On Monday afternoon, wishes from the world of show business for Perry’s convalescence turned to posts of shock and condolence.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 star Ian Ziering tweeted on Monday afternoon: “Dearest Luke, I will forever bask in the loving memories we’ve shared over the last thirty years. May your journey forward be enriched by the magnificent souls who have passed before you, just like you have done here, for those you leave behind.”
Dearest Luke,
— Ian Ziering (@IanZiering) March 4, 2019
I will forever bask in the loving memories we've shared over the last thirty years. May your journey forward be enriched by the magnificent souls who have passed before you, just like you have done here, for those you leave behind.
The actor Yvette Nicole Brown tweeted: “You were loved by me and countless others” and added in another post that “there are no words”.
Brown said they worked together only once but it was “a career highlight for me”, and posted a picture of the two together.
A tweet from the Golden Globes Awards official account included a picture of Perry and read, simply: “Luke Perry (1966-2019) Rest in Peace.”
Perry was born on 11 October 1966, in Mansfield, Ohio, with the name Coy Luther Perry III.
From 1993 to 2003 he was married to fellow actor Rachel “Minnie” Sharp and the couple had two children before the relationship ended in divorce.
Perry stars in the forthcoming film by Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
