PBR CEO Reacts To Luke Perry’s Passing

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Actor Luke Perry shot to stardom in 1990 when the television show Beverly Hills, 90210 debuted. He played brooding bad boy Dylan McKay from 1990-1995, and from 1998-2000. He instantly made girls all over the world fall in love with him, and guys all over the world want to be him.

His hiatus from the hit show was because he tried to find more mature roles after the success of his first leading role in a movie – 8 Seconds, where he starred alongside Stephen Baldwin. He portrayed the legendary Lane Frost, a talented professional bull rider who died after an injury at the Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1989.

8 Seconds resonated deeply with rodeo fans, with many praising Perry’s performance as Frost. The actor passed away on March 4, days after a stroke on Wednesday, February 27th, 2019. Perry’s rep, Arnold Robinson, told the publication that Perry was surrounded by his children, fiance, ex-wife, mother, step-father, siblings, and many other family members at the time.

TMZ says that doctors had been working to help his body recover from the stroke and had hoped his brain had a good chance to heal itself, but it turned out that the damage was too extensive.

https://twitter.com/EthanErwin108/status/1102677990356541441

Because of what the movie meant to the bull riding community, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) CEO made a statement on social media about Perry’s passing.

“Luke Perry was known to millions as the heartthrob on Beverly Hills 90210 but to the western sports community, he will forever be remembered as the passionate actor who brought Lane Frost back to life on the big screen in 8 Seconds,” he wrote. “In Luke’s first leading feature film role, he captured Lane’s competitive and generous spirit in a very convincing way in a film that remains a favorite of bull riding fans. Luke once said that while he had played other athletes, he never felt more connected to a sport than bull riding. 

Gleason finished the emotional note by writing, “Luke came out to some events and was a good friend of the PBR family until his passing. The PBR’s thoughts are with Luke’s family and friends on this very sad day.”

https://www.facebook.com/PBRCEO/videos/365638480690625/?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDfk98tTadOV_T4glc8tfd1Udy3sukd4eSIGag2OriXcSQBxYMh3d0kL37n_thv4PZy8OKldqj62AUcdTFHSyNRCF3UmCTtT1_iUtppi52Q7cb_1djECyW6UGDfE8PHSumRRLiEBK5fbFeF5I66eEBb9AUv1eRbI0_5otEEHs3G5lCdnPqHPRwXN7gHYBYyrTtEFj2zpO2ujYvIMa5gHqhkbzWjq2cx4lU7V0hk26soO0sn_uL34y5bD1CsPmAd_asLm_2DAd0aVhGqRN2gLXufOAU4j_-blXdSheTGEJyv2ziHR7U8P6mN17XKWHYI0ZL7h4qK5duySTzNn27FBkQIaOcHt4N5rNIshafnmYr0Fq9oEWR9hdl5HKI&__tn__=H-R

Gleason also wrote a similar, but shorter tribute on Twitter.

Rest in peace, Luke Perry…

Watch some behind the scenes footage from filming 8 Seconds below.