Luke Perry has died at the age of 52, days after a massive stroke.
TMZ reports that Luke passed away Monday morning at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank, California.
He had been rushed to hospital last week suffering from a huge stroke.
His rep confirmed the sad news in a statement, revealing that Luke had been surrounded by his family when he slipped away.
“Actor Luke Perry, 52, passed away today after suffering a massive stroke,” said his rep.
“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.”
The statement added: “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.”
Luke was best known for playing Dylan McKay in the teen show Beverly Hills, 90210 and was currently starring as Archie’s father Fred Andrews in Riverdale.
He was rushed to hospital last Wednesday morning after suffering the stroke while at his Sherman Oaks, CA home.
Initial reports claimed Luke had been put in a medical coma to give his brain a “fighting chance” of recovering without permanent damage, but his rep told Mirror Online at the time: “He is not in a coma.”
The last known update was that Luke was “currently sedated and under observation at the hospital”.
But TMZ reports that the damage to Luke’s brain from his stroke was too extensive to survive.
News of last week’s hospitalization came a day after it was confirmed the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 will reunite for a reboot of the 90s hit.
Talk of a return to the much-loved show has been in the pipeline for some time, and last Wednesday Fox announced that it was rebooting the series with original stars Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth, Jason Priestley, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris and Brian Austin Green on board.
Luke was born in Ohio, but moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.
It didn’t take long for him to get noticed and he soon landed roles in a video for Twister Sister and in US soaps Loving and Another World.
However, his big break came when he landed the part of dreamy Dylan McKay in Beverly Hill, 90210.
The role won him millions of adoring female fans and shot him to fame across the globe.
While working on the TV show, he landed a role in another soon to be cult franchise – Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
He was part of the cast of Joss Whedon’s original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie starring Kristy Swanson as the stake-throwing high school heroine.
Perry quit 90210 in 1995, and went on to launch a full-time movie career but he struggled to step out of his role as a teen idol.
He failed to win any career-changing parts and returned to 90210 in 1998.
He said of playing Dylan McKay: “I’m going to be linked with him until I die, but that’s actually just fine.
“I created Dylan McKay. He’s mine.”
However, Perry chose to not return to the cast when the show was revived for a newer, younger spin-off, simply called 90210.
His career in later years returned to the small screen with memorable roles in prison drama OZ, Spin City, Law and Order: SVU and Will & Grace.
Perry dabbled in theatre by appearing on Broadway in 2001 in a revival of the Rocky Horror Show, and in London’s West End in a stage version of When Harry Met Sally.
However, it was his return to TV in another teen drama, Riverdale, in 2017 that pushed him back into the spotlight again.
He played Archie’s dad Fred Andrews in the CW show, which shot him to fame among a new generation of fans.
Perry previously had a terrifying health scare in 2015 after undergoing a colonoscophy that picked up pre-cancerous cells.
He became an advocate for colon cancer testing and gave himself a life makeover following his care, changing his diet and getting into a new fitness regime.
He was married to Rachel Sharp from 1993 until 2003 and they had two children, Jack, 21, and Sophie, 18.
At the time of his death he was engaged to fiancé Wendy Madison Bauer.
