Luke Perry, known for his roles in “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Riverdale,” passed away on Wednesday, March 5, after suffering a massive stroke.
Perry was surrounded by friends and family members at the time of his passing. It has been reported that his family appreciated the outpouring of love and support from all over the world during this difficult time.
Perry was only 52 years old when he passed, leaving people to speculate on how young he was to have suffered a fatal stroke.
However, according to CNN, “although stroke often affects older individuals, it is not only a disease of the elderly,” and there has been an increase in the amount of younger people experiencing strokes for reasons that are unclear at this time. I’m glad that this is raising awareness of stroke risk, but saddened that it had to come after losing a great actor and person.
Perry has starred on the hit CW teen drama “Riverdale” for the past three years as Fred Andrews, who is the best parent character on the show. If you disagree, don’t @ me, but you are wrong. Now, following Perry’s passing, it is unclear what they will do with his character in the coming seasons. Fred Andrews was already almost killed in the second season of the show after being shot by the Black Hood.
That season began with his son Archie, played by KJ Apa, taking him to the hospital, leaving viewers wondering if Fred would pull through. I don’t know how they will phase out his character, considering they almost killed him off before.
Also, in the most recent season, which is currently airing, Perry has become more present in the show, as Archie is back in Riverdale after being on the run from Hiram Lodge. Fred is seen trying help Archie clean up his act and re-acclimate to high school life. Archie needs Fred now more than ever as he tries to get his life back and tries to deal with his emotions after being attacked by a bear. What will happen to Archie now that Fred is gone?
Archie’s mother, who is played by Molly Ringwald, lives in Chicago, so he would have no one to watch over him unless she came to live in Riverdale… or if Archie moved to Chicago. What would this mean for the rest of Riverdale?
Losing Fred as a character will lose the heart of the show, and I don’t know how they could possibly replace him. I’m not sure that anyone else would be able to fill the shoes of Luke Perry.
As of right now, “Riverdale” has suspended production, so there’s no telling what the show will decide to do in the coming seasons. We can only sit and wait to see how they will deal with the unfillable empty space Perry has left behind.