"We lost a dear friend," the actress Camilla Mendes remembered her Riverdale co-star Luke Perry in a touching tribute she posted on Instagram Thursday. The actor, 52, died Monday after having suffered a sudden massive heart attack Wednesday last week.
Mendes, who plays Veronica Lodge in the aforementioned show, posted her message on Instagram in memory of the actor, who had played Fred Andrews on The CW series.
Posting a picture of her with the late actor, the young star recounts how the actor had taken care of them at the set, describing him as an "authentic" person who had offered the benefit of his "guidance" as well as "wisdom."
The 24-year-old actress remembered the deceased as a person whose presence was "healing," who was able to make people "comfortable" and "at ease" in a short while after meeting him. She expressed that she could not "forget" everyone's "shock" and "distress" when they had heard of the news on the set.
Mendes heartbreakingly expressed she could "still remember what it felt like," speaking of the late actor's hug.
She ended her tribute saying she would always remember that feeling.
The actor's passing came as an unexpected shock to everyone on the set of the teen series he had starred in, Riverdale, as well as to family and friends.
The show's executive producer, Robert Aguirre-Sacasa, announced that this week's episode would feature the departed actor, and went on to say that every episode thereon would be dedicated to the late actor's memory.
Perry's passing has affected his co-actors on the set of Riverdale, as counseling has been made open to anyone there. Work on the set was put on hold Monday and was said to have resumed Wednesday when the teen drama flashed a message honoring the late Luke Perry at the end of the episode.
Since the actor's death, his co-stars on Riverdale have shared various messages on social media and their reactions to his sudden passing.
The actor is remembered for his roles in Beverly Hills 90210, which had catapulted him to stardom. He had also starred in the soaps Loving which aired on ABC and Another World on NBC
He died surrounded by family, Jack and Sophie, his children; Wendy Bauer, his fiancée; Ann Bennett, his mother; and Steve Bennett, his stepfather. Also present were Minnie Sharp, his ex-wife; Tom Perry, his brother; and Amy Coder, his sister. Some other family members, as well as close friends, were there, too, during the actor's last moments.
