Actor Luke Perry’s Portrayal of a Bad Boy Heartthrob Helped Make 90210 an International Sensation

Luke Perry, actor from the ’90’s TV hit Beverly Hills, 90210, died on Monday at the age of 52. The cause of death was a massive stroke.

Perry is best remembered as Dylan McKay, a brooding high-school heartthrob, on 90210. The role would catapult the young actor to stardom and cement the character’s place in pop culture history. Perry was recently featured on the CW’s Riverdale as teen Archie’s father.

Though Beverly Hills has a reputation that preceded the popular show, the young cast became instant household names and ignited worldwide attention for SoCal teen culture.

Back in 1992, shortly after 90210 became a cultural phenomenon, Luke Perry made the cover of Vanity Fair and shared this insight on his young life:

“”I felt like another,” he told the magazine. “It was never about escape. It was about wanting to feel like I belonged. I felt like I belonged on a screen. I don’t know why. I guess because I related to the people up on that screen much more than the people around me. I always felt like I was one of them and in a matter of time I’d get there.”

You can read Perry’s full Los Angeles Times obituary here.