Following the news of Luke Perry's death at the age of 52, fans and celebrity friends inundated social media with touching tributes and photos, but it was Tom Hanks' son Colin's that touched a lot of hearts. The 41-year-old took to Instagram to share the story of how he met Luke, and it clearly showed how the actor was so loved by his family and friends.
Captioning a picture of Luke, he wrote: "I only met him once but the story is too good not tell given today's sad events. My wife and I are on a plane back from Mexico. Couple of rows ahead of us, these two brothers, young kids, are beating the hell out of each other. Their poor parents are powerless to stop the crying, yelling and screaming. If you're a parent you understand. Sometimes there's nothing you can do. It was like this for close to two hours."
He continued: "Then about 10 minutes before landing it starts to get real bad. Out of nowhere, a man comes from first class. Hat, beard, sunglasses, blowing up a balloon. He ties it off, hands it off like he's holding out a sword to a king. Kneeling, Head down, arms up. Kids calm down in milliseconds. Plane damn near bursts into applause. 15 minutes longer and it probably would have started WWIII, but we landed before that could happen. We get off the plane, are waiting on line in customs. Finally get a good look at the guy and I say to my wife "Holy [explicit]. I think that balloon man/hero is Luke Perry."
And if you think the story couldn't get better, the Fargo star then revealed the conversation they both had at customs: "As luck would have it we end up standing next to each other. Out of the blue he turns to me and says some kind words about Fargo, which kinda blew my mind. I start singing his praises about how long I've admired him and also about the move with the balloon. 'That's a pro move! You can't teach that!' I say. He tells me he always flies with a couple of balloons for that very reason, to give to screaming kids. Don't know if that's true, but have no reason to believe it wasn't. Guy seemed like a true gent. Gone way too damn soon. Also, I'll be damned if I don't start traveling with some spare balloons #promove #rip#lukeperry #truegent."
The emotional post received thousands of positive comments, with mum Rita Wilson saying: "What a great story about a clearly lovely man." Busy Philipps and Sophia Bush both commented: "I love this," followed by a red heart emoji. And a fan wrote: "Wow. Thank you for sharing this Colin. Imagine...he went to whatever drawer he had stashed balloons in...grabbed a few and shoved into his pocket for any potential child he’d have to give this to on an airplane. I didn’t know much about Luke Perry, but given what he told you, it truly says a lot about his character. What a beautiful soul. And yes, please carry some balloons in your pocket on flights. My son has autism, and you never know if a child in distress will need that."
Luke passed away on Monday at the age of 52, after suffering a stroke at his home in Los Angeles last Thursday. The actor died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancée and other close family members and friends. The actor is best known for his role in Beverly Hills, 90210, where he played Dylan McKay. He also played the role of Archie Andrews’ dad Fred Andrews in Riverdale, and had recently been filming scenes for the new series.