Luke Perry R.I.P.

I was only 14 years old when the original "Beverly Hills 90210" came out.
I was in love with a bunch of girls. Had nasty crushes. Back in the 1990's, you couldn't do much to cyberstalk so I just sat at home watching television and sulking. Along comes this show about two Midwesterners who come to sunny Los Angeles, and the high school life they have to contend with. Rich kids doing rich kid shit.

To me, Luke Perry, who is Dylan McKay, was the rebel with a sweet Porsche (dream James Dean Porsche) who caught the attention of Brenda (Shannen Doherty). To me, the show represented the freedom of being a teen and also being angst ridden dramatic.
Call me a fag if you want, Luke Perry was smooth. I think most girls wanted to fuck him over Jason Priestly. I'm sure if I were to do a survey back then on the internet, yeah, he'd win. Sideburns became a MASSIVE thing. My buddy and I both grew ours out. He had the ability to do so, my cursed Asian genetics only made my sideburns look like loose mutton chops. Tufts of hair.
But Luke Perry was the dude. A few years later, he starred in "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" film. Now, this is the ONLY Buffy I recognize. 1) because Kristy Swanson was the girl and 2) because Luke Perry played against type finally 3) Paul Reubens was trying to fix his reputation of being a rain coat wearing smut house perv.

As I graduated high school, Luke Perry disappeared from my radar. They still pressed hard for him to do more feature films. A bull riding one called "8 Seconds" seemed to have tanked him permanently from the big screen, but he persisted through small roles, finally ending up in today's "Riverdale" to which I hadn't seen.

I get the impression that he was saddled with the Dylan McKay character. Everyone from that point wanted him to be that guy. No matter what, the Ohio born Luke Perry seemed to want something...deeper. But roles that were reserved for, say...Mickey Rourke or Leo DiCaprio eluded him. As they also did with the rest of his cast mates (where's Priestly?!).

I'm sure this haunted him throughout his 53 years on this Earth. What is shocking is how quickly we can go. A couple of ER nurses had mentioned in a posting the lack of information given after his initial stroke led them to believe he was on his death bed. I'm not sure how they knew, only that they explained when the words of the hospital are limited, they know that vernacular that the man was going to expire soon (media, stupidly defended the rumors of him being in a coma...guess what? You're wrong again. Why do we even have news when the public is much more accurate).

Something is missing today. I think there is a little bit of me coming to Los Angeles that had to do with that show. Corny as it may be. And that the shimmer of Hollywood continues to get dimmer and dimmer. Not that I've had a lot of disappointments, but it almost feels as if my contemporaries are moving on with their lives. Or in Luke Perry's case, moving on in life. Not that I ever felt a kindred spirit to any made up character, but it still feels like a bigger loss when the life was so young and the career so iconic. In a way, he seems to have been encased in 1990 for me. As I think for others who may not be able to articulate why his loss is far greater.