In a day of tributes to the late actor Luke Perry, Life in Pieces star Colin Hanks shared a story about the first and only time he met the Beverly Hills, 90210 actor in real life. There Hanks was, returning from Mexico, when suddenly two little kids started a full-on child brawl mid-flight. Their parents were helpless to stop them. As Hanks explained in an Instagram post Monday, “Out of no where, a man comes from first class.â€
“Hat, beard, sunglasses, blowing up a balloon,†the actor recalled. “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.â€
If that wasn’t charming enough, turns out, Perry was also a vocal fan of Hanks’s work. “Finally get a good look at the guy and I say to my wife, ‘Holy shit. I think that balloon man/hero is Luke Perry,’†he continued. “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.â€
And in case you thought Luke Perry’s turn as an on-flight balloon wizard was a one-time performance, think again. “He tells me he always flies with a couple of balloons for that very reason, to give to screaming kids,†Hanks reveals. “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’m gotta [sic] start traveling with some spare balloons.†Go ahead and read the full saga below.