Biography

Slim, intense and smoky-voiced, Perry became best-known for his updated 1950s look and James Dean attitude as the misbehaved but misunderstood Dylan McKay on Fox TV's appealing paean to puberty, "Beverly Hills, 90210". The blue-collar, Ohio-born Perry arrived in Los Angeles after graduating high school, doing odd jobs (working in a doorknob factory, laying asphalt) while auditioning. He acted in the soaps "Loving" (ABC) and "Another World" (NBC) in the late 80s, added his smoldering presence to Levi's 501 jeans ads, and had a bit part in the film "Scorchers" (not released till 1992). Fame came with his winning the role of Dylan McKay in "90210" in 1990, and the near-hysteria that resulted transformed the actor into the leading teeny-bopper idol of the early 90s. Big-screen roles in the teen drama "Terminal Bliss" and the horror/comedy "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (both 1992) did not, however, make him a movie star. Perry finally got some respectable notices with "8 Seconds" (1994), a biopic of rodeo rider Lane Frost, who died in 1989 after being gored by a bull. Perry left "90210" late in 1995, and filmed "Normal Life" (released directly on video in 1996), a romance with Ashley Judd.

 

Birth Name:	Coy Luther Perry III
Birthdate:	October 11, 1966
Birthplace:	Fredericktown, Ohio
Occupations:	Actor, Model
Quote:	"I got a letter the other day from a girl who mentioned the show we did on parental drug abuse. She wrote about catching her father freebasing in the basement. I get letters like that all the time, from people all over the country." --People, 1991

Claim to Fame: 1990-1995: Played Dylan McKay on Fox's Beverly Hills, 90210

Significant Other(s):
Yasmine Bleeth, actress; appeared on ABC soap opera Ryan's Hope when Perry was on Loving; later acted on One Life to Live; and most known for acting on Baywatch; lived with Perry in New York but broke up shortly after he moved back to Los Angeles
Wife: Minnie Sharp, former model; former furniture saleswoman; born 1969; married November 20, 1993; daughter of screenwriter Alan Sharp

Family:
Father: Coy Luther Perry II, steelworker; died of a heart attack in 1980
Mother: Ann Perry Bennett, homemaker; parents divorced when Perry was 6; married Steve Bennett 1978
Stepfather: Steve Bennett, construction worker
Brother: Thomas Perry, navy recruiter; born 1965
Sister: Amy Perry, secretary; born 1970
Stepsister: Emily Bennett, born 1976; daughter of Steve Bennett by a previous marriage
Son: Jack Perry; born June 15, 1997; mother, Minnie Sharp

Factoids:
Perry owned a pet Vietnamese potbellied pig named Jerry Lee

Education:
Fredericktown High School in Fredericktown, OH (1984); graduated; was in the business vocational program; voted "Biggest Flirt" his senior year