Luke Perry dead: Riverdale and Beverly Hills 90210 actor dies days after suffering stroke

The actor Luke Perry has died days after suffering a massive stroke.

The former Beverly Hills, 90210 star was admitted to hospital last Wednesday after he suffered a stroke at his Los Angeles home.

The actor’s publicist told Yahoo: “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 Steve 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.”

Perry starred as Fred Andrews on the teen television series Riverdale but is better known for his role as the handsome loner Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210, which was set around a group of students living in the upscale southern California city.

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For years, as Beverly Hills, 90210 gained a cult-like following, Perry was mobbed with young girls chasing him wherever he would go. In one instance in 1992, thousands of teens rushed a portable stage, constructed for the actor’s appearance, and squashed each other, with a dozen people getting rushed to a hospital.

“I don’t like that,” Perry told Rolling Stone. “I mean, I could understand if I was [Elvis Presley].” He had to stop doing public appearances.

Perry was taken ill the same day that Fox television announced it was reviving the series with many of the original cast, including Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling.

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Perry was not among those announced as returning for the limited run of six new episodes this summer.

Beverly Hills, 90210 ran for 10 years starting in 1990 and was one of the most popular shows on U.S. television.

Perry is survived by his two children, 21-year-old son Jack and 18-year-old daughter Sophie, whom he shared with ex-wife, Minnie Sharp. Perry and Sharp divorced in 2003 after 10 years together. The actor was notoriously private about his personal life. It was not public knowledge that he was even engaged to Wendy Madison Bauer until news of his death was confirmed.

Additional reporting by Taryn Ryder, Yahoo Entertainment