After Shannen Doherty passed away on Saturday, July 13, we can’t help but think back to her role in the hit series Beverly Hills, 90210 and her chemistry with Luke Perry.
The two former co-stars, who played Brenda Walsh and Dylan McKay respectively, were not only colleagues but also longtime friends, and remained close until Perry’s death from a stroke in March 2019 at the age of 53.
In the short time since her passing, which was confirmed by her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane, a number of fans, as well as friends and colleagues, have responded with warmth as they look back on their enduring close bond and friendship over the years.
Gabrielle Carteris, who played Andrea on the iconic series, summed up the sentiments by writing, “I know Luke has his arms wide open ready to love you,” in her tribute, as reported by People.
As recently as February of this year, Doherty became emotional as she recounted the moment she learned of Perry’s death during a panel discussion at MegaCon Orlando.
Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry first met before they got Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1990 and they had a “special kind of love” as friends long after they shared the screen together
The two actors remained close after playing romantic partners Brenda Walsh and Dylan McKay during their four seasons together on ‘Beverly Hills, 90210.’
“It was shocking,” Doherty said of losing her former co-star and friend. “I have a very visceral reaction when someone brings up Luke, because as someone with cancer — and a really horrible stage 4 cancer — I thought I would be the first one to go. So when it was Luke, I was completely devastated.”
Heartbroken over the loss of Perry, Doherty finally found the strength to share a tribute on social media the day after his passing.
“I got a phone call yesterday morning that devastated me,” she began in the caption, her emotion evident in her words. “I’m struggling with this loss and having a hard time with my thoughts. But my heart goes out to his family and friends who have been blessed by his light in their (and mine) lives. Processing this is impossible right now.”
It turned out that she and Perry wanted to create new magic on screen together and were looking for the right production to collaborate on.
“There’s a special kind of love you feel for each other when you go through the journey that we went through on 90210 and just life in general,” Doherty said, before revealing, “Luke and I were working on show ideas for ourselves. We wanted to work together again and create something special and meaningful for our fans at this point in our lives.”
She added: ‘I will miss him every day. Every minute. Every second.’
During that same 2019 interview with People, the Memphis, Tennessee, native said she last saw Luke Perry when “they met for lunch” just a few weeks before his death.
“I walked in and there he was, laughing, with his dog Penny and her bed under the couch, happy as can be,” she recalled. “I’ll never forget — and I’ll miss — Luke looking at me with that smile of his and saying … ‘Shan.'”
Doherty and Perry starred together on Beverly Hills, 90210 for the first four seasons of the hit series from 1990-1994; Perry would stay for two more seasons and then leave, only to return for the final 10th season; they starred alongside Ian Ziering, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth and Gabrielle Carteris
“There’s a special kind of love that you feel for each other when you go through the journey that we went through on 90210 and just life in general,” Doherty told People during a 2019 interview, shortly after Perry’s sudden death.
During a 90210 panel at RewindCon Chicago, just weeks before his death in 2019, Perry heaped praise on Doherty, telling the audience, “None of us are standing here today without Shannen.”
He went on to share, “The reality is she was a huge part of the success of the show. She taught me a lot and I’m just really glad she was there for me as a scene partner.”
Even after her cancer diagnosis, there was a click and ‘the bond was immediately rebuilt, albeit now older and wiser, but the bond remained intact.’
She described him as a “smart, quiet, humble and complex man with a heart of gold and an endless source of integrity and love.”
Doherty, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, documented much of her life with cancer on Instagram; she is pictured at a Stand Up To Cancer event in 2016
The actress opened up about Perry’s death and how “devastated” she was, a day after hearing the tragic news
Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–1994) is considered one of the most iconic television shows of the 1990s. Doherty starred in the first four seasons of Beverly Hills, 90210, with Perry appearing in the first six seasons. He returned for the tenth and final season in 2000.
Doherty was also one of the original actors who returned for the reboot BH90210, which ultimately lasted one season with six episodes.
The Charmed alumnus was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, which also involved multiple tumors. She underwent a single mastectomy in May 2016. She then underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as the cancer was more advanced than previously thought.
In 2017, Doherty announced that her cancer was in remission.
But in February 2020, she announced that the cancer had returned the year before and she is now in stage four.
In a statement released by her longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, she wrote: “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones and her dog, Bowie” when she passed away on Saturday, July 13.
After expressing her “fear,” Doherty had a tumor removed from her head. The CT scan showed that the cancer cells had spread from their original location to the brain.
“I’m fighting for my life every day,” Doherty said, before adding: “I think I’m really great.”
In a statement released by Doherty’s publicist the day after her death Today in the USSloane said the actress “lost her battle with cancer after battling the disease for many years.”
She continued: “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones and her dog, Bowie. The family requests their privacy at this time so they may grieve in peace.”