MEMORY LANE
‘90210’ star gets choked up talking about Luke Perry
I AN Ziering says playing rich kid Steve Sanders in the 1990-2000 Fox series “Beverly Hills, 90210” was a great “launch point” for his career. “Being on a globally successful television program for 10 years certainly does lend itself to creating future work,” said Ziering, 55. That includes playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the reboot “BH90210,” which reunites original cast members Gabrielle Carteris, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Brian Austin Green, Jason Priestley and Tori Spelling. (Luke Perry died following a stroke in March.) The series takes shots at Spelling’s rumored financial issues, Ziering’s rocky divorce from Playboy Playmate Nikki Schieler, the cast’s perceived disdain for Doherty, and alleged backstage hookups back in the day. Since the original show, Ziering struck gold starring in Syfy’s cheesy “Sharknado” franchise, and on Saturday he followed that up with another sci-fi spectacle, “Zombie Tidal Wave.” (Guess what that’s about?)
Ziering lives in Los Angeles’s Hollywood Hills with second wife, Erin Ludwig, and their two daughters, Mia Lauren, 8, and Penna Mae, 6. He recently spoke by phone with The Post.
The reboot alludes to cast flings on the original series. Were there a lot of off-camera hookups?
I can’t speak for others, but it’s something that I was very sure not to get involved in. I’m one of the few people on the show who had gone through college and I made the mistake of kissing a girl on my dorm floor. It never turned into a relationship, but it did turn into an awkward situation every time I passed her in the hallway. I kinda learned … you don’t, uh . . . What’s the term?
Don’t s - - t where you eat?
Yeah. [Laughs.] While I found all the women on the show to be very attractive, I kept it professional.
In the reboot your on-screen wife accidentally FaceTimes you while having sex with someone else. Is that based on reality?
We want the audience to guess what’s real and what’s not . . . It’s no secret I was divorced — whether that was the reason or not, it certainly makes for good TV, that’s for sure!
After the original series, you and Luke remained close. What would it have been like with Luke involved in the reboot?
He never signed on to do it — he was very involved in “Riverdale” — but I’m sure he would have found a way to do a cameo. It would have been a welcome addition for us and the fans. Today I find it difficult to reconcile the loss of my friend, to talk about it without getting a little choked up. It’s hard to believe. What do you miss about him? I just, uh … I just miss my friend.
You’ve made six “Sharknado” movies,m and now you’re starring in “Zombie Tidal Wave.” What’s your y fascination with sci-fi?
Oh, my God — I’m a huge science-fictionti fan! Ever since watching “Abbott and an Costello Meet the Mummy” and the early-morning e creature features I was weaned w on by my brothers. It is kind of like li a dream come true.
Though T these are tongue-incheek, c too.
It’s a completely different genre. It’s not n a romantic comedy, a drama, an action-adventure — it’s a fun movie where everyone is in on the joke.
When planning your “Sharknado” follow-up, were there any ideas you dismissed?
Yeah. “Frog-pocalypse.” [Laughs.] Frogs in a total cataclysmic storm — it just didn’t work but, man, did I laugh my ass off. —