‘Riverdale’ Star Luke Perry Has Died

Luke Perry, star of drama Riverdale on The CW, has died. He was 52. He suffered a “massive stroke” in Los Angeles, according to his family, Feb. 27.

Perry played Fred Andrews, father of Archie, on Riverdale. He spoke of the role with B&C in the fall. “I enjoy playing the nice guy, the stay-at-home dad,” he said. “It’s something new for me.”

Perry had starred in the Fox hit Beverly Hills, 90210, playing bad boy Dylan McKay, who dated Shannen Doherty’s Brenda. The show was about a group of high school friends in fabulously wealthy Beverly Hills.

Last week, Fox announced a series called 90210 that will bring back cast members from the original. Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering and Tori Spelling are on board. 90210 is scheduled to air this summer.

EW reported that production was shut down on Riverdale for the day. The show shoots in Vancouver. 

The Riverdale writers' room shared on Twitter, from @RiverdaleWriter, "You were a joyful and vibrant soul. You will be missed but most certainly your legacy will be remembered forever. Rest in love and peace, friend."

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.