Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Luke Perry, the 90s teen icon, passed away on Monday, March 4, 2019. He will have his last appearance in Quentin Tarantino‘s film, ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood‘. The actor is playing the character of Scott Lancer in Tarantino’s star-studded affair. Perry, born Coy Luther Perry III, was an American actor who was best known for playing Dylan McKay on the series ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’. He was most recently playing the role of Fred Andrews, the father of Archie Andrews in The CW show ‘Riverdale‘. The actor had been playing the said role over three seasons.
Perry was aged 52 when he suffered a massive stroke and passed away. He had first been hospitalized on February 27, and paramedics had been dispatched to his residence in Sherman Oaks, California. He had remained there under observation for five days. Perry’s publicist released the official statement through Buzzfeed News, saying, “Actor Luke Perry, 52, passed away today after suffering a massive stroke. He was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancé Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steven Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends. 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. No further details will be released at this time”.
While the world mourns Perry’s death, it has been confirmed that he will appear as Scott Lancer in Tarantino’s movie, which finished filming in November. Lancer is a fascinating name to be given to Perry’s character since Wayne Maunder played a character of the same name in the Western series titled ‘Lancer’ that ran on CBS from 1968 to 1970. Since ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ is set in 1969, the similarity in timelines is more than just a coincidence, considering that Tarantino is an enormous film buff and consumer of entertainment content, and is thus most likely aware of ‘Lancer’. As far as Tarantino’s film is concerned, the plot revolves around Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. He is the former star of a Western TV series and Brad Pitt plays his longtime stunt double, Cliff Booth. They live in a Hollywood they can no longer recognize, and Margot Robbie stars as Sharon Tate, their neighbor. Notably, Tate, the wife of director Roman Polanski, was the most infamous victim of Charles Manson and his cult of killers. DiCaprio took to Twitter to mourn the news of Perry’s death, saying, “Luke Perry was a kindhearted and incredibly talented artist. It was an honor to be able to work with him. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his loved ones”.
Perry is not the only actor who has passed away after being cast in Tarantino’s penultimate project. Burt Reynolds passed away even before he managed to start filming, and Bruce Dern his longtime friend stepped up to play the role of George Spahn, the blind rancher who was the property owner of the place where Manson and his followers made the plans for the murder. For those unaware, Tarantino’s movie includes a stellar cast which also includes Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Emile Hirsch, Lena Dunham, Michael Madsen, and Damian Lewis. ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ is set to hit the theaters on July 26.
