Much like the characters played by James Dean, the 1950s god of tormented cool, Perry's Dylan had secrets on top of enigmas locked inside a scarred psyche. Related: Luke Perry dies of stroke: Causes, signs, symptoms to know Dylan had problems.

The first time Perry appeared as Dylan - it was after the pilot episode, FYI - his charisma instantly raised the level of the '90210' game, 'Perry was so instantly cool and magnetic in the role that he transformed what had seemed an earnest culture clash comedy into something more addictively melodramatic and soapy,' wrote Alan Sepinwall in a Rolling Stone on Monday. The smoldering looks delivered with that impossible mix of desire, regret and yearning. And Dylan is ours forever now, thanks to streaming sites. Here are some of the things that made Perry's portrait of a high school student as a young rebel so memorable. In the early 1990s, there didn't seem to be anyone more popular than the young man who played Dylan McKay on 'Beverly Hills 90210.' In his day, he could fill a mall with screaming fans faster than any star from 2019's TV listings.ĭylan was awesome.

But the 52-year-old actor, who died Monday after having a massive stroke last week, did achieve something very few actors do. Luke Perry didn't have the gift of old age. Watch Video: Luke Perry, '90210's Dylan McKay, dies days after 'massive stroke'

Dylan 90210