Despite skyrocketing to fame as a teen idol as Dylan McKay inBeverly Hills, 90210and, later, captivating in roles like Fred Andrews onRiverdale, the lateLuke Perrynever changed who he was, according to his hometown friends.
Rachel Mackall said she last saw Perry — whodied Monday after suffering a strokefive days prior — two years ago when he stopped into her bar/restaurant, Door 142, in downtown Fredericktown, Ohio, where the actor grew up.
“He was always pretty low-key about it,” Mackall tells PEOPLE exclusively. “He was usually with someone in his family. Heloved his kids. He would talkabout them nonstop. When he came to town, people wouldn’t treat him differently. He never changed, so no one ever had a reason to treat him like he had.”
“We are totally devastated about his death,” she continues. “It hasn’t even really sunk in yet. He loved his life, his kids, his family. He never stopped being ‘hometown’ and we loved him for it.”
For more about Luke Perry’s life and death, check out this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday
Rachel McKall
“It’s been a few years since I saw him. He was always adorable and always so fun. He had girlfriends but most of us just saw him as that goofy kid,” she says. “After he was a celebrity, he would come to theTomato Show(the town’s annual festival) andyou could stand there and just talk to him. Sometimes people would line up to talk with him and I’d say, ‘I need to let you go’ and he would grab my hand and say, ‘No, stay here.’ ”
“He was like that with everybody. He would have done anything for anybody,” Corba adds. “He was a star to begin with and he knew it and we knew it. He was always a prankster and always putting on a show (in school). One time, we took a limo out onto the field for homecoming and he popped out of it in the Freddie Bird costume and we acted like his bodyguards. The crowd went wild. Healways had that big, sweet personalityand he never changed.”
Luke Perry.Cindy Ord/Getty
A source told PEOPLE on Monday that Perry, who died at the age of 52, never woke upafter suffering the massive strokethat killed him. The insider said that the actor remained under “heavy sedation” for five days while in the hospitaluntil he died on Monday, after paramedics were initially dispatched to his home in Sherman Oaks, California.
Luke Perry with daughter Sophie.Sophie Perry/Instagram
Luke Perry and KJ Apa onRiverdale.Dean Buscher /The CW
Countless celebrities have come out in the wake of Perry’s death to share anecdotes about the starand how much he impacted their lives, including many of hisRiverdaleand formerBeverly Hills, 90210castmates. (Production on the formerhas been temporarily suspended.)
“I’mfinding it hard to grasp thathe will no longer be around to give long hugs and share his wisdom and kindness with all of us,” tweeted hisRiverdalecostarLili Reinhart. “I’m thinking of his family. His children. I pray for them to heal and find peace in this devastating loss.”
In a1991 cover interview with PEOPLE, a then-newly famous Perry talked about his disdain for being referred to as a “teen idol” and how fame was “just fantasy.”
“This,” he said, pointing to his bare chest “is reality.” Gesturing at his humble surroundings, he added, “I’m a simple guy. Look around. I don’t need a whole lot.”
source: people.com
