Luke Perry Had ‘Bad Back Problems’ But Was ‘Otherwise Healthy’ Prior To Stroke, Per ‘Radar Online’
On Wednesday morning, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Riverdale actor Luke Perry was reportedly hospitalized after suffering a massive stroke. While it has yet to be officially confirmed whether Perry was dealing with specific health issues before Wednesday, a new report from Radar Online suggests that he suffered from “bad back problems,” but was mostly in good health in the lead-up to his medical emergency.
Citing an unidentified neighbor, Radar Online wrote that the 52-year-old Perry had his bad back “surgically fixed” prior to his stroke but was “otherwise healthy.” The publication added that other neighbors had often observed the actor living a fit lifestyle, as he was regularly seen walking his dogs and performing “regular exercise routines” while going to a gym near his home in Sherman Oaks, California.
According to TMZ, Perry had recently spent some time at the Warner Bros. studio in Los Angeles shooting some episodes for the popular teen drama Riverdale, where he plays the role of Fred Andrews, the father of lead character Archie (K.J. Apa). The outlet also noted that there have been conflicting reports as to whether Perry was placed in a medically-induced coma or merely sedated, but specified that he was under observation as of 8:38 a.m. PST (11:38 a.m. EST) on Thursday.
Reid and Ben: Our thoughts are with Luke Perry. Hoping for a speedy recovery!! https://t.co/lX1gy09NZ1 pic.twitter.com/y6EIqTc8Ls
— Kingston’s MOVE 98.3 (@Move983) March 1, 2019
While today’s viewers may mostly know Luke Perry for his aforementioned role on Riverdale, the actor first shot to fame in the early ’90s, as he played the rebellious Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990 to 1995, and later from 1998 to 2000.
Per Variety, Perry suffered a stroke on the same day that Fox confirmed that Beverly Hills, 90210 would be revived for six episodes, with most of the original cast members returning. Perry, however, was not among the actors confirmed to take part in the revived series, and neither was former on-screen love interest Shannen Doherty, who has recently dealt with some health issues of her own. As noted by People, Doherty, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, has been in remission for close to two years.
As reported by The Inquisitr on Thursday, Perry is not the only notable celebrity who had suffered a stroke in recent years, as many have gone on to recover and live productive lives in their respective fields. One such example mentioned was Poison frontman Bret Michaels, who had a stroke in 2010 while filming Celebrity Apprentice, but remained on the show and went on to win that year’s edition of the reality series.
