As Hollywood continues to pay tribute to the late Luke Perry, who died Monday at the age of 52 following a massive stroke, Colin Hanks is the latest star to share his fondest memory of the “Beverly Hills, 90210” actor.
“I only met him once but the story is too good not tell given [today’s] sad events,” Hanks, 41, began Monday on Instagram.
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“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,” he continued. “It was like this for close to two hours. 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.”
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The “Life in Pieces” star noted that the gentleman in question had his “head down,” and that the children calmed down in “milliseconds.”
“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 s–t. I think that balloon man/hero is Luke Perry.’ As luck would have it we end up standing next to each other,” Hanks shared.
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“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,” he added.
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Hanks then called Perry a “true gent,” and noted, “I’ll be damned if I don’t start traveling with some spare balloons #promove #rip #lukeperry.”
The heartfelt story prompted an overwhelming response from fellow celebrities, including Elizabeth Banks and Hanks’ stepmother, Rita Wilson.
“What a great story about a clearly lovely man,” Wilson remarked.
“I’m getting balloons now,” Banks wrote.
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“I love this,” Busy Philipps gushed.
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Following news of Perry’s passing, Molly Ringwald and Charlie Sheen, among others, posted sweet messages about the late actor.
This story originally appeared in Page Six.