Luke Perry made a name for himself in showbiz with a career the spanned decades and a variety of roles, although he may always be best remembered for his role as the gold-hearted bad boy Dylan from Beverly Hills, 90210. Perry tragically passed away on the morning of March 4 after a massive stroke. Now, Simpsons producer Mike Reiss has shared his memories of when Perry jumped Fox shows back in 1993 to voice a character on the show. Here's how Reiss recalls Perry as a Simpsons voice actor:
I do remember him being very affable and happy to be doing it. He was a good sport too — we shot him out of a cannon on the show, and Luke did a very funny scream.
Luke Perry contributed to The Simpsons in the Season 4 episode called "Krusty Gets Cancelled," which saw him play a fictionalized version of himself. The Simpsons version of Luke Perry was actually Krusty the Clown's estranged half-brother who became a big TV star while Krusty was less of a mainstream success. Sideshow Luke Perry was even better at making balloon shapes than Krusty was, which understandably didn't rub Krusty the right way.
Since this is Krusty the Clown we're talking about, he didn't just accept Sideshow Luke Perry's success without making the effort to sabotage him. As producer (and then co-showrunner) Mike Reiss said, Luke Perry was shot out of a cannon on the show.
Unfortunately for the animated Luke Perry, he was shot waaaaaaaaaay out of the cannon, going face-first through windows, bottles of acid, and a sandpaper museum before landing safely in a pillow factory. Alas for Luke Perry and his valuable face, the pillow factory was demolished on top for him. He survived the ordeal, however, and attended an after-party.
See Luke Perry in all his animated Simpsons glory in the clip from 1993!
The man who could brood like a champ in live-action and win the hearts of Beverly Hills, 90210 fans everywhere could also scream hilariously for an animated guest spot. Luke Perry was no Dylan McKay as Sideshow Luke Perry, and his scenes on The Simpsons are as funny now as they were then, even if the joke about Fox doesn't land as well in 2019. Perry's most recent TV gig was as Archie's dad on The CW's Riverdale.
As funny as he was in this appearance on The Simpsons, Luke Perry could do more than win the hearts and draw laughs. Mike Reiss went on in his reminiscing to EW to commend Perry on his other successes back in the 90s:
He was the biggest heartthrob in America at the time, but I got to compliment him on another achievement. He had just kicked butt on Celebrity Jeopardy the week before. He was second for the week to Cheech [Marin], I think. Luke seemed very grateful for the remark about his brains, not his looks. He was clearly a very bright guy.
In the wake of Luke Perry's death, costars past and present shared messages of love and grief, and it's clear that he won't be forgotten any time soon. Riverdale will likely address his passing in some way or other during the airing of its next episode. Only time will tell. Our thoughts here at CinemaBlend go out to Perry's friends, family, and loved ones in this difficult time.
