What Did Luke Perry Do Before ‘Riverdale?’
Actor Luke Perry died yesterday in Burbank, California as a result of the massive stroke he had last week.
“He was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancé Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends,” Arnold Robinson, the actor’s rep told The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
Most people today know Perry as Archie’s father on the popular CW drama Riverdale, but Perry had a lengthy and iconic career long before the comic’s storyline was ever brought to the small screen. Let’s take a look back at some of Perry’s biggest roles.
Perry’s early acting career
Perry was born in Ohio in 1966. He broke into acting through the soap opera world. He had roles in both Loving and Another World in the ’80s. The shows did well, but nothing skyrocketed the actor to fame like his role on Beverly Hills, 90210. He landed the role of Dylan McKay on the show in 1990.
If you are unfamiliar with the cult classic, Beverly Hills, 90210 followed a group of high school friends in California as they navigated the drama of going through adolescence in a wealthy area. Perry’s character on the show was the rich bad boy who dated Brenda Walsh, who was played by actress Shannen Doherty. Perry’s good looks, paired with the show’s storyline made him a teenage heartthrob that girls everywhere dreamed about.
Perry left the show in
“I’m going to be linked with him until I die, but that’s actually just fine,” Perry once said of the role. “I created Dylan McKay. He’s mine.”
He left the teen drama for good in 2000 and had “no interest” in returning.
“I can honestly tell you that Luke has no interest in coming back to the show,” Jason Priestley, Perry’s 90210 co-star told Us Weekly in 2008. The next year, when asked about a reunion, Perry said that he didn’t see it happening.
During his 90210 years, the actor also played a number of other roles. Two years after 90210 aired, he played Buffy’s love interest, Pike, in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. This role also helped solidify him as the object of teenage girls’ affections.
Perry also voiced an episode of The Simpsons in 1993, where he played himself. The actor also did voice-over work on Clone High and Pepper Ann.
In 1994, he appeared in his first serious role in the film 8 Seconds. He played the role of Lane Frost, a famous bull rider who died in a rodeo accident. The movie itself didn’t do well, but critics complimented Perry for his performance.
Perry after ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’
After leaving the world of rich high school students behind in 2000, Perry landed roles in HBO’s drama Oz and also starred in John From Cincinnati.
Since then, Perry had gotten into acting again, taking on his latest big role as Archie’s father in Riverdale. He is also set to appear in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a Quentin Tarantino movie that is coming out this summer.
Read more: Who was Luke Perry Engaged to at the Time of His Death?
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