I don't remember what night of the week the original 90210 was on, but I do remember coming to work the next day and talking endlessly about it. Anyone between 15 and 30 loved that show and probably related to one of the characters on it, whether it was the sweet Brenda Walsh or her charming brother Brandon (who'd moved to Beverly Hills from Minneapolis, BTW), the nerdy Steve, the super-cute Kelly, the rich Donna, the smart Andrea or the bad-boy, Dylan McKay, the role Luke was best-known for.
90210 was on from about 90 to 95, and again later in the 90's but by that time, the magic had passed and not many people paid attention. You still see some of the stars of the show here and there. You hear gossip about Tori Spelling, the girl who played Andrea had a TV talk show for a short time in the 90s and Luke Perry has been playing Archie's dad on Riverdale.
And last week, we were all surprised to hear he had a stroke. People that young don't usually have strokes, and we heard it was a serious one. Then we heard he was doing okay. (at least I did) Then Monday, we found out he died. Just so sad.
I will say, he didn't look that healthy. For 52 years old, he looked like he hadn't been taking good care of himself; maybe smoking or drinking too much. Hollywood stars are human and to go from "top of the world" to failed movies, then no movies, well, that's a hard pill for anyone to swallow. It isn't unheard of for waning stars to not be as healthy as they could be. It's an ugly truth about fame and Hollywood.
But for a few years, he was livin' the dream, and that's more than most people who seek out a career in show business can say.
RIP Luke Perry.
-Dave