Colin Hanks shares story about Luke Perry ending an argument between kids on a plane
Colin Hanks was raised by one of the nicest actors in Hollywood, but the actor is taking time to praise another star he calls a "true gent" – Luke Perry. The "90210" and "Riverdale" star died on Monday after suffering a "massive stroke" a week before. Several stars remembered Perry on social media, including Tom Hanks' son.
Colin Hanks took to Instagram to post a photo of Perry and a long caption about the only time he met the actor. "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 eachother," Hanks' story began. "Their poor parents are powerless to stop the crying, yelling and screaming."
"If you're a parent you understand. Sometimes there's nothing you can do," the actor wrote. "It was like this for close to two hours. Then about 10 minutes before landing it starts to get real bad. Out of no where, a man comes from first class." Hanks described the man as wearing a hat, beard, and sunglasses. He was blowing up a balloon," Hanks wrote.
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"Kids calm down in milliseconds. Plane damn near bursts into applause," Hanks said of the stranger's act of kindness. "15 minutes longer and it probably would have started WWIII, but we landed before that could happen."
Hanks said when he and his wife got of the plane and were waiting customs, he finally realized who the man was. "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.'"
The story about Perry's kindness does not end there. "As luck would have it we end up standing next to each other," the actor's post read. "Out of the blue he turns to me and says some kind words about Fargo, which kinda blew my mind." (Hanks starred as Gus Grimly in the "Fargo" TV series.)
"I start singing his praises about how long I've admired him and also about the move with the balloon," Hanks recalled. "'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," Hanks wrote. "But [I] have no reason to believe it wasn't. Guy seemed like a true gent."
Hanks only met Perry once, but his kindness made a lasting impact on the actor. "I'll be damned if I don't start traveling with some spare balloons," he wrote.