‘90210’ Jason Priestly Opens Up About Shannen Doherty’s Death
Jason Priestly has opened up about dealing with the deaths of his Beverly Hills, 90210 co-stars Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry. He said that each death impacted the way he chose to live his life now and think about his own mortality more. Keep reading to see what the 90210 alum had to say about his friends and co-stars.
Jason Priestly Faces His Own Mortality After Co-Stars’ Deaths
The 54-year-old actor spoke with the Mirror in an interview that was published on August 17. During the interview, he reflected on how Luke Perry’s and Shannen Doherty’s deaths affected him in different ways.
When Luke Perry died in 2019, it made him realize that his life was passing by. He told the Mirror, “It has made me think about my own mortality. I woke up on my 50th birthday and I realized that I’d already lived most of my life.” Jason turned 50 in August 2019, just a few months after Luke’s death.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum continued, “Luke’s passing away was totally a shock because there was nothing wrong with him. We were neighbors as well as friends and spent a lot of time together. We shared so much.”
Nothing Left Unsaid Between Jason Priestly & Shannen Doherty
Shannen Doherty played Jason Priestly’s twin sister on 90210. They became close when they worked together on the ’90s series. Even though she was open about her battle with cancer, her death still came as a shock to Jason and other people who were close to her.
“I always admired her tenacity and her toughness, so even though I knew she was sick, her actually passing away was a big surprise, and sad for all of us,” he said about his former co-star. “She fought it for so long and seemed like she was able to manage it… until she wasn’t, unfortunately.”
He continued, saying that Shannen Doherty was “a force.” In the last few years, they spent some time together and, in the end, Jason said he “felt okay about her passing.” There wasn’t anything left between them that went unsaid.
Jason Priestly said that he and the former Beverly Hills, 90210 cast keep in touch. They have a WhatsApp group where they chat occasionally. The group also reunites at events from time to time. “When we get together it’s like we’ve never been apart. Same jokes, same one-liners, except some of us are dads now, so we tell really bad dad jokes,” he said.
Luke Perry died on March 4, 2019. In addition to Beverly Hills, 90210, Perry was known for acting in the series Riverdale. On February 27 of that year, the 52-year-old actor suffered a massive ischemic stroke. He was taken to the hospital where he suffered a second stroke and was taken off life support by his family.
Shannen Doherty died on July 13, 2024, at her home in Malibu, California. The actress ultimately lost her battle with cancer after nearly 10 years. She was only 53 years old.
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