Never forgotten. Ian Ziering paid an emotional tribute to his late friend and former Beverly Hills, 90210 costar, Luke Perry, on the one-year anniversary of his death.
“Hard to believe it’s been a year since losing Luke,” the Sharknado star, 55, captioned a black-and-white throwback photo with Perry. “Though time heals wounds, the pain of loss lasts forever. Miss you so much pal. #RIPLuke.”
Perry passed away on March 4, 2019, after suffering a massive stroke at his home in Los Angeles. He was 52.
“Perry was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancée 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 Riverdale actor’s rep said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time. “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.”
Later that day, Ziering reflected on his friendship with Perry and shared a sweet snapshot of the pair embracing.
“Dearest Luke, I will forever bask in the loving memories we’ve shared over the last thirty years,” he captioned the snapshot. “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. God please give him a seat close to you, he deserves it.”
Following his death, Perry’s other Beverly Hills, 90210 costar Shannen Doherty honored her friend’s legacy in October 2019 with a cameo role on the Riverdale season 4 premiere episode, which officially wrote off Perry’s character, Fred Andrews. The Heathers star, 48, portrayed a woman Fred sacrificed his life to save while helping her change a flat tire.
Doherty, 48, shared how important it was for her to appear on Riverdale via Instagram in July 2019.
“I am deeply honored to pay tribute to Luke on Riverdale,” she captioned a black-and-white selfie with Perry. “The care in which this show takes in honoring his memory is beautiful. He is missed. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.”
Perry’s children — son Jack, 22, and daughter Sophie, 19, who he shares with ex-wife Rachel “Minnie” Sharp — were involved in the making of the tribute episode. “I think they read the script and then they provided those great photos,” Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told reporters in October 2019.
The producer added that having an official goodbye episode for Fred and Perry was healing for the cast, who had worked alongside the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star for two years.
“I think everyone was really proud to gather to tell this tribute to Fred and to Luke, and I think everyone was, I don’t want to say happy to have a catharsis, but I think we’d been, when [Perry’s death] happened, we were all scattered, so there was something really special when we all gathered to do the table read that was cathartic,” Aguirre-Sacasa said at the time. “But we knew it was going to be hard and it was.”
