‘There was Dylan McKay and after that there was nothing’: ‘90s girls on loving and losing Luke Perry

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Almost immediately after Luke Perry died on March 4, 2019 a diner in Mission created a milkshake in his honour.

If I were to create a milkshake in memory of Luke Perry the main ingredient would be dark chocolate-at least 80 per cent. It would be bitter and gritty with a hint of sweetness. It would be called the Dylan McKay and I would drink it alone.

The actual milkshake is a raspberry peach cobbler blend. Debbi Schiller runs Rocko’s Diner in Mission B.C. where the LP shake was officially launched the weekend after the actor died.

“When the tragedy struck we were inundated with phone calls. A lot of people asked, ‘Are you doing something?'” she said. “Milkshakes are what we’re known for. It’s something everybody enjoys. It’s a comfort food.”

Schiller said the flavours were chosen to pay “proper tribute” to the characters Perry was famous for.

Perry was playing the role of Fred Andrews on Riverdale-which filmed scenes at Rocko’s early in its run-when he died suddenly of a stroke. The raspberry is a nod to Perry’s on-screen son, Archie Andrews, the iconic redhead. The peach is in honour of the Peach Pit, the hangout for the gang on Beverly Hills 90210. The cobbler was chosen because it’s a classic and comforting diner food. One dollar from every sale goes to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

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A generation of women who came of age in the 90s went into mourning when Perry died. But it wasn’t for the 52-year-old actor with two grown children who was passionate about the climate crisis and had an eco-friendly burial near his Tennessee farm.

It was for Dylan McKay, the iconic bad-boy from Beverly Hills 90210.

He was the highlight reel of our teenage years

Staci Quigley and Kris Parsons are two of those women. They met in 1990, the same year the show premiered.

“It struck a chord when Luke Perry died because he was the highlight reel of our teenage years. He was always there, and it was very difficult to think that he would be gone,” Parsons said. “It was like Dylan McKay died, which was really sad.”

When they were in their 30s they exchanged Dylan McKay themed birthday gifts (Quigley got Parsons a poster, Parsons got Quigley a t-shirt.)

They met in Grade 9, shortly after Parsons moved to a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario. Their friendship was forged on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m.

“The ritual was that we always went to my house, we never missed an episode. If we were going to miss one we would record it and watch it later, always together,” Quigley said.

Although the show has been off the air for 20 years, Parsons said they still refer to it on a near-daily basis. Their online exchanges are done almost exclusively in 90210 GIFs.

“It blew up into more than just watching the show,” she said.

When they were in university, Quigley crafted the first in a series of handmade 90210-themed planners for Parsons.

@StaciQT38 and I back in the day when we were young, wild, kicking ass and taking names. Still do all that just a few more years under our belts. Also peak 90210 planner days @lisa_steacy. #WaybackWednesday #wouldyoulikesomespicegirlsgum pic.twitter.com/QuuSJZtZib

— LL (@prairieparsons) January 15, 2020

“They took a lot of time, especially the earlier planners because the printers were really slow. I would pick out the perfect pictures that would match some of the running jokes we had or pictures that I knew I could add weird captions to,” Quigley said. “I would cut them all out glue them in and then just go from there.”

A few years ago, Parsons proudly used one of these planners as a work calendar. She keeps all the planners as “nostalgic mementos.” She also drinks coffee out of a 90210 mug at her office.

“People these days, they don’t understand the impact that he had on women our age,” Parsons said. “There was Dylan McKay and after that there was nothing,” Parsons said.

Mad, bad and dangerous to know

The first time Dylan McKay appears in the show, we learn everything we need to know about him. He’s rebellious but righteous when he stands up to bullies. He’s a loner with a bad reputation. He’s been a little bit broken by his absent father. Soulful electric guitar solos reverberate whenever he comes on screen.

“I liked the fact that Dylan lived on his own terms. But he was still very sensitive and compassionate.” Parsons said, “You stopped in your tracks when he came on the screen…there was just nobody hotter.”

His voice is husky, his brow is furrowed, and he looks at everyone he meets with a skeptical, sexy squint. He spends lunch alone, reading the poetry of Lord Byron-with whom he feels a kinship. “Mad, bad and dangerous to know, that was him and that’s me,” he tells Brandon Walsh, the character played by Jason Priestley.

Dylan and Brandon are opposites and unlikely best friends. Brandon is a nice guy and a literal boy scout (he says so himself several times). He works on the school paper and comes home in time for dinner. He kisses his mom on the cheek and tells her not to worry about him. He goes out of his way to make friends. He saves a girl from drowning in the ocean. And he smiles, a lot.

In 1992, five million 90210 posters were sold in a six-month period, according to New York Magazine. Luke Perry was the top-seller, Jason Priestley was number two.

“Anyone who chose Brandon over Dylan, I don’t trust their judgment. Nobody’s that good,” Parsons said.

Browsing through the new @people and this will never not be sad. #LukePerry #SundayThoughts pic.twitter.com/J7makEBrSs

— LL (@prairieparsons) December 8, 2019

Luke Perry and 90210 is what I credit with getting me through the first half of my life

Kathleen Trotter, 36, has three photos in her Toronto office. One of her and her partner. One of her and her sister. But the one that looms largest is a twenty-year old, three-foot tall poster.

“It’s not a picture of Luke Perry, it’s a picture of Dylan,” Trotter said.

Trotter was only allowed to watch one hour of television a week, and it had to be Canadian. She was introduced to Dylan McKay when an older babysitter started sneaking her VHS tapes of 90210 episodes. She was 12 years old and living in Stratford, Ontario.

“Luke Perry and 90210 is what I credit with getting me through the first half of my life,” she said.

Like Parsons, Trotter discovered 90210 when she was the new kid in town. She said she was odd and lonely and took comfort in the story of two teenagers who initially struggled to fit in but ultimately found happiness.

“I would go to these new schools desperately wanting to fit in and desperately wanting a friend group and desperately wanting a boyfriend, or not even a boyfriend, just somebody to think I was pretty,” she said. “For me 90210 in general but especially Dylan–and Brenda’s relationship with Dylan–really signified like the possibility of what my life could be.”

She was heartened that Dylan chose Brenda, who was “pretty but not in the 90210 way” and she said she will “never forget” the way the character of Dylan looked at her in the episode where their romance first sparked.

“He was a little bit of a bad-boy but he also read books and was thoughtful and was really intelligent,” she said. “You saw the jerkiness but also the potential to be something different. That’s what keeps you hooked.”

Open Gallery 5 items

Trotter thinks that the Brandon/Dylan dichotomy is an oversimplification, that no one is 100 per cent bad boy or 100 per cent boy scout. But she definitely preferred Dylan.

“I respected Brandon hugely and I wanted to be like Brandon, but I never wanted to date Brandon. I didn’t ever find Brandon sexy.”

Trotter lives with her partner James who she met in Grade 12.

“I look at my partner James now and there are huge amounts of Brandon in him but huge amounts of Dylan in him too. As he gets older, way less Dylan for sure.”

The first time James ever spoke to her was to tease her about her Dylan McKay bookmark.

Trotter hangs the bookmark on her Christmas tree as an ornament every year.

I guess I’ll see you around

When I was in high school a friend found a 90210 t-shirt at Value Village, the acrylic zip-code emblazoned across the chest had already faded from fluorescent pink to peach. She gave it to me for my birthday with a Luke Perry trading card. I wore it until it fell apart.

The show ran for 10 years, but for me it ends when Dylan leaves. I never watch past the last scene with Luke Perry. In the wake of tragedy, Dylan decides to take off, as Dylan is wont to do. He doesn’t plan on saying goodbye to anyone. But Brandon shows up at his house.

“I guess I’ll see you around,” Brandon says.

“I guess,” replies Dylan.

He puts on his shades, kickstarts his motorcycle and drives away.