Colin Hanks (Instagram/@colinhanks); Luke Perry (AP Photo/Jeff Christensen)
Although they may not have been introduced properly, actor Colin Hanks had a touching memory of late actor Luke Perry which is without a doubt worthy to be shared.
Perry, who was the star in the hit 1990s TV show “Beverly Hills, 90210”, died of complications from a massive stroke on Monday, March 4 (Tuesday, March 5 in Manila).
READ: Luke Perry dies at 52 after suffering stroke
Perry’s death apparently triggered memories in the son of Tom Hanks, who had a touching story to share about the actor, something he shared with fans on his Instagram account last Tuesday, March 5. He recalled that when he and his wife were once in a plane back from Mexico, there were two young brothers a couple of rows ahead of them who were “beating the hell out of each other.”
“Their poor parents are powerless to stop the crying, yelling and screaming,” Hanks narrated. “If you’re a parent you understand. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do.”
Hanks said the fighting went on for “close to two hours,” and it started to get “real bad” as about their plane was going to land.
“Out of nowhere, a man comes from first class,” Hanks went on. “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.”
He added that as soon as the mystery man handed the balloon to the kids, they calmed down “in milliseconds,” and plane passengers “damn near bursts into applause.”
When all went off board, Hanks said he finally got a good look of the man while they were on customs. The actor then turned to his wife, and reacted, “Holy sh*t, I think that balloon man/hero is Luke Perry!”
“As luck would have it we end up standing next to each other,” he remembered of their short encounter. “Out of the blue, he turns to me and says some kind words about Fargo, which kinda blew my mind.”
Hanks also shared that Perry told him he carries balloons around whenever he flies to give to screaming kids. “Don’t know if that’s true, but have no reason to believe it wasn’t,” the actor added.
“Guy seemed like a true gent,” he said of Perry. “Gone way too damn soon.”
Aside from Hanks, other celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Molly Ringwald and Jon Cryer also took to social media to express their heartbreak over the actor’s death. JB
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