The actor was born in Ohio on October 11, 1966. He grew up in the Midwestern state before moving to Los Angeles shortly after his high school graduation to pursue a career in acting.

Perry got his start in soap operas. He appeared on Another World from 1988 to 1989. Soon after, he landed his part on 90210.

The Riverdale star was cast as the bad boy of West Beverly High School in the teen drama, which ran on Fox from 1990 to 2000. He starred alongside Tori Spelling (Donna Martin), Jennie Garth (Kelly Taylor), Ian Ziering (Steve Sanders), Shannen Doherty (Brenda Walsh), Jason Priestley (Brandon Walsh) and Brian Austin Green (David Silver).

Perry moved on from his career-launching role before the show ended — and later came back to wrap up his character’s story. He pursued film roles, voiceover work and TV appearances in the meantime.

In 2017, the 8 Seconds actor returned to his roots as Archie Andrews’ (KJ Apa) dad on the CW hit Riverdale. His costars include fellow ‘90s icons Skeet Ulrich, Mädchen Amick and Mark Consuelos, who also play parents of the murderous town’s teens.

Perry wed Rachel Sharp in 1993. The pair welcomed son Jack in 1997 and daughter Sophie in 2000, but they divorced 10 years after tying the knot.

He admitted to Us Weekly in March 2017 that he would not want his daughter to date his character Dylan McKay. “I know that brother,” he quipped. “I know what he’s up to. … He’s absolutely a man of character, so she could do worse. But it wouldn’t be my first pick, no.”

The Oz alum dealt with precancerous growths in 2015. He suffered a massive stroke in February 2019 and died less than a week later.

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This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Us Weekly Staff