Getty Luke Perry pictured in 1994.
Luke Perry died on March 4, a week after suffering a massive stroke, at the age of 52. Perry reportedly could “take or leave” cigarettes. That’s according to a 1994 People Magazine article, at a time when Perry was at the height of his “Beverly Hills 90210” fame. The piece focused on young actors who were smokers. The article says that Perry’s co-star, Jason Priestly, was a chain-smoker but that Perry “can take or leave” cigarettes.”
A 1991 People cover story on Perry mentioned that he smoked Marlboro Lights during the interview, as did a Washington Post article from the same era. Priestly told the Hollywood Reporter in 2014 that Marlboro Lights were also his cigarette of choice.
A passage in the 1999 book, “The Bust Guide to the New Girl Order” compared Perry to the Marlboro Man, the cigarette company’s iconic spokesman. The 1994 report “Tobacco Use: An American Crisis: Final Conference Report and Recommendations” referenced Perry’s Vanity Fair cover story in which he was shown with a packet of Marlboro Lights in several photos. The report cited the possible negative impact this subliminal advertising could have on teenagers.
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According to Stroke.org, smoking makes a person twice as likely to die if you have a stroke and the more that you smoke, the higher your chances of having a stroke. The Centers for Disease Control says that smoking causes stroke through the raising of fats in the blood, lowering of good chloesterol, causing blood clots, the damaging of cells in blood vessels, increasing the buildup of various fats, calcium and cholesterol blood vessels.
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