Luke Perry death: KJ Apa, Jason Priestley pay tribute to Riverdale, 90210 star

KJ Apa and Luke Perry in Riverdale. Photo / supplied

Kiwi star KJ Apa has paid tribute to his Riverdale co-star Luke Perry, who died this week after suffering a "massive stroke".

Apa shared a screenshot on his Instagram story of the Third Eye Blind song The Background, which pays tribute to a loved one who has died in hospital.

The opening lyrics include: "Everything is quiet since you're not around, and I live in the numbness now, in the background."

Perry played Fred Andrews, the father of Apa's character Archie, in Riverdale, the CW/Netflix TV series based on the beloved Archie comics.

KJ Apa shared the Third Eye Blind song on his Instagram story. Photo / Instagram

Perry's former Beverly Hills 90210 co-star Jason Priestley has also paid tribute to the late actor on Instagram, sharing old and recent images of him with his "dear friend of 29 years".

"It's taken me a couple of days to figure out how to write this," wrote Priestley. "My dear friend of 29 years, Luke Perry, was one of those truly special people who really cared.

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It’s taken me a couple of days to figure out how to write this... My dear friend of 29 years, Luke Perry, was one of those truly special people who really cared... Luke was not only a star, he was an incredibly bright light that was extinguished far too soon... and that is why I, and so many others, are in so much pain today... If you had the good fortune to know Luke, or to have ever crossed his path, I know you are sad today as well... the candle that burns twice as bright only burns for half as long... you burned oh, so brightly Luke... Goodnight Sweet Prince.

A post shared by jason_priestley (@jason_priestley) on Mar 7, 2019 at 12:12am PST

"Luke was not only a star, he was an incredibly bright light that was extinguished far too soon ... and that is why I, and so many others, are in so much pain today ... If you had the good fortune to know Luke, or to have ever crossed his path, I know you are sad today as well.

"The candle that burns twice as bright only burns for half as long ... you burned oh, so brightly Luke ... Goodnight Sweet Prince."

Luke Perry (centre) and Jason Priestley (back, right) were among the original cast of Beverly Hills 90210. Photo / supplied

Perry had been in Los Angeles hospital since last Wednesday, where he was in an induced coma. He passed away on Tuesday at the age of 52.