Beverly Hills, 90210 heartthrob dies at 52

LOS ANGELES — Luke Perry, who gained instant heartthrob status as wealthy rebel Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210, died Monday after suffering a stroke, his publicist said.

He was 52.

Perry was surrounded by family and friends when he died, publicist Arnold Robinson said.

The actor had been hospitalized since last Wednesday, after a 911 call summoned medical help to his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles.

“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,” Robinson said in a statement.

Those at Perry’s bedside included his children, Jake and Sophie; fiancee Wendy Madison Bauer; former wife, Minnie Sharp; and mother, Ann Bennett.

Perry had played construction company owner Fred Andrews, father of main character Archie Andrews, for three seasons on Riverdale, the CW series that gives a dark take on Archie comics.

A fourth season has been planned.

On Beverly Hills, 90210, Perry’s character went from loner to part of a close-knit circle that included twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh (Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley), but also endured a string of romantic, family and other setbacks, including drug addiction. Perry left the series in 1995 to pursue other roles, returning in 1998 for the rest of the show’s run as a guest star.

The same day he was hospitalized, Fox TV announced that it would be running a six-episode return of 90210 featuring most of the original cast, but Perry was not among those announced.

90210 co-star Ian Ziering paid tribute to his co-star on Twitter.

“I will forever bask in the loving memories we’ve shared over the last thirty years,” Ziering said. “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.”

Born and raised in rural Fredericktown, Ohio, Perry gained fame on Beverly Hills 90210, which ran from 1990 to 2000.

He had roles in a handful of films, including The Fifth Element, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 8 Seconds and American Strays, appeared in HBO’s prison drama Oz as a televangelist convicted of fraud, and voiced cartoons.

The late actor’s next big screen role will be in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, which is set for release in July.