‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ stars Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry shared ‘special kind of love’ as friends

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Following Shannen Doherty's breast cancer death on Saturday, July 13, memories of her time on the wildly popular series 'Beverly Hills, 90210,' and her friendship with Luke Perry cannot be ignored.

The two played lovers Brenda Walsh and Dylan McKay in the '90s television drama 'Beverly Hills, 90210', and they remained close until Perry died in March 2019 at the age of 52 following a stroke.

In a statement to People on Saturday, July 13, Doherty's longtime publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed that the actress "lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease".

Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry shared 'special kind of love' as longtime friends

Following her death, several of Shannen Doherty's admirers and family members mentioned how close Doherty and Luke Perry were.

"I know Luke is there with open arms to love you," said Gabrielle Carteris in her homage, who played Andrea in the beloved series, People reported.

Doherty became noticeably emotional during a February panel discussion at MegaCon Orlando when she recalled finding out about Perry's death.

"It was shocking," Doherty remarked at the time.

"I have a very visceral reaction whenever someone brings up Luke because as someone with cancer — and a really horrible cancer at stage 4 — I thought I would be the first to go. So when it was Luke, it really just sent me for a tailspin."

Prior to Perry’s death, Doherty was looking for the ideal project to collaborate with the actor in order to bring "something special and meaningful" for fans.

"There is a special kind of love one has for each other when you are experiencing the journey we did on '90210' and of course life in general," the 'Charmed' actress said.

She revealed, "Luke and I were working on show ideas for us. We wanted to work with each other again and create something special and meaningful for our fans at this stage in our lives."

"I will miss him everyday. Every minute. Every second," Doherty added.

Doherty described Perry as a "smart, quiet, humble and complex man with a heart of gold and never-ending well of integrity and love" in a 2019 interview with People.

During her battle with illness, she claimed they got back in touch and "picked right back up, albeit older and wiser, but that connection remained intact".

Luke Perry heaped praise on Shannen Doherty weeks before his death

A few weeks before he died in 2019, Luke Perry showered Shannen Doherty with love at a RewindCon Chicago '90210' panel, telling the crowd, "None of us are up here today without Shannen."

"The reality is that she was a very big part of the success of the program. She taught me a lot and I'm just really glad she was there for me as a scene partner," he said.

Perry added, "Any of the issues or anything that anyone ever talked about Shannen, the one thing I could always tell them was when she was on the mark and we were doing our work, there were no problems. She was great at what she did."

Doherty made a brief appearance on Perry's 'Riverdale' after his death, and she said on Instagram that she was "deeply honored to pay tribute to Luke" on the popular CW series.

Fans react to Shannen Doherty's death years after co-star Luke Perry's in 2019

Fans of Shannen Doherty react to her death from breast cancer years after the stroke death of her '90210' co-star Luke Perry in 2019.

Social media users expressed their shock and sorrow at the star's demise by posting tributes on X (formerly Twitter) as one fan wrote, "Shannon will be deeply missed, she was simply magical, I remember watching her on Little House on the Prairie as Little Jenny Wilder."

A second fan wrote, "Brenda and Dylan were my first ship before I even knew what shipping was. I’m so sad that Luke and now Shannen are gone but I also know they’re reunited now. Now excuse me while I go cry."

Another added, "What an inspiration. I didn’t get into 90210 and Charmed until several years ago but Shannen quickly became my favorite on both shows. I was gonna meet her at @fanexpochicago

next month and I was so excited. She was so strong. Glad she’s reunited with Luke"

"So sad to hear about Shannen Doherty. She was an amazing actress and bravely fought her cancer. Prue will be an iconic character from “Charmed” for me. May she rest in peace. Say hi to Luke for us," chimed in another.

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