The late Luke Perry is gone, but in no way forgotten in the hearts of his Riverdale costars.
As we reported in March, the 52-year-old actor passed away, nearly a week after suffering a stroke at his Sherman Oaks, California home. While he was under observation at a Burbank, hospital, he never made a recovery.
Now, as The CW hit show begins production on season four, members of its talented cast are paying tribute to the beloved actor during the first table read of the season.
Related: ‘Riverdale’ Star Vanessa Morgan Is Engaged To Michael Kopech!
On Monday, Mädchen Amick, who plays Alice Cooper, took to Instagram to share a snap of the cast and crew working on the show’s premiere with a table read, which she said will honor the Fred Andrews portrayer.
See their group selfie (below):
It looks like the whole gang was there, including stars KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Cole Sprouse, Camila Mendes, and Madelaine Petsch. Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is also pictured (above).
In her caption, the thespian noted how much love was in the room as the group rehearsed the upcoming, first episode with Perry on the forefront of their minds:
“There was nothing but love, memories and mourning for our beloved Luke as we honor him in our first episode back ❤️ #wemissyouluke #inmemoriam #riverdale #S4 #tableread”
The post was received with love from Perry’s son, Jack, who replied with a heart emoji, and the Archie Comics IG account also commented with three hearts, too. Also in the comments section was Beverly Hills 90210 star Christine Elise, who shared she and her costars were “living in the same sadness.”
You’ll notice one of Amick’s hashtags includes “in memoriam”, which Aguirre-Sacasa announced would be the title of season four’s premiere on Twitter.
Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever. A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred. ❤️???????????????????? pic.twitter.com/MH7xOjNyDu
— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) June 19, 2019
As you know, Luke’s untimely death happened while the Archie Comics-based TV show was midway through its third season. And while the final three episodes of that season were dedicated to Perry, the network and writers collectively decided not to address the actor’s passing on-screen until they had a bit more time to process the sudden loss.
Aguirre-Sacasa told ET back in May of how the show will properly address Fred Andrews’ sudden disappearance, saying:
“We knew we had to honor Luke and address Luke’s death on the show. When Luke had passed, we had already pretty much plotted out the end of this season and written the end of this season. Rather than try to squeeze something in and potentially not get it right, we thought, ‘Let’s take a beat and let’s figure out really what would be the best way to honor Luke and to honor the character of Fred, and let’s do it at the top of season four.'”
Without giving away too many specifics on the direction for the “In Memoriam” special, he added:
“Luke was one of the hearts of the show — Luke and KJ, their relationship, and as crazy as things got, we always turned back to them. That was so wonderful to have, and so that was part of our thinking too. We wanted to take the time to understand how the show will change [without Fred], and how we could best address that.”
Ugh. We still can’t believe he’s gone. The show certainly won’t be the same without him.
You can catch the special tribute when Riverdale returns in October, and catch Perry in Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, which was filmed prior to his death.
[Image via Judy Eddy/WENN]
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