A Good Bad Boy

Luke Perry and How a Generation Grew Up

By: Margaret Wappler

Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya, George Newbern, Margaret Wappler

An artful and contemplative tribute to the late actor famed for his role as Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills, 90210.

Best known for playing loner rebel Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills, 90210, Luke Perry was fifty-two years old when he died of a stroke in 2019. There have been other deaths of nineties stars, but this one hit different. Gen X was reminded of their own inescapable mortality, and robbed of an exciting career resurgence for one of their most cherished icons—with recent roles in the hit series Riverdale and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood bringing him renewed attention and acclaim. Only upon his death, as stories poured out online about his authenticity and kindness, did it become clear how little was known about the exceedingly humble actor and how deeply he impacted popular culture.

In A Good Bad Boy, Margaret Wappler attempts to understand who Perry was and why he was unique among his Hollywood peers. To do so, she uses an inventive hybrid narrative. She speaks with dozens who knew Perry personally and professionally. They share insightful anecdotes: how he kept connected to his Ohio upbringing; nearly blew his 90210 audition; tried to shed his heartthrob image by joining the HBO prison drama Oz; and in the last year of his life, sought to set up two of his newly divorced friends. (After his death, the pair bonded in their grief and eventually married.) Amid these original interviews and exhaustive archival research, Wappler weaves poignant vignettes of memoir in which she serves as an avatar to show how Perry shaped a generation’s views on masculinity, privilege, and the ideal of “cool.”

Timed to the fifth anniversary of Perry’s death, A Good Bad Boy is a profound and entertaining examination of what it means to be an artist and an adult.

Disappointed

I DNF'd this book. I loved the portions I read about Luke BUT I do not understand the authors decision to insert her own memoir in with a book that is supposed to be about Luke Perry. I made it to Chapter 10 hoping his portion would overtake her memoir and when that didn't happen I DNF.
This review is not to necessarily to say the book was bad but that I think it was misrepresented. Luke is on the cover. The title reflects Luke. I didn't want to know her own story.
If you decide to read this book or listen to the narration be aware of what you are purchasing.

More Luke- less you

Wanted more luke, not the confusing autobiography from the author. Felt very disjunctive… hard to follow parallel biographies that never interlink or collide.

Nostalgic

Growing up in the 90’s, this book brought back a lot of great memories. It also showed what a great guy Luke Perry was from first hand accounts by people who knew him personally and professionally. He will be forever missed. Great book!

Not too much about Luke Perry

Did not realize when I purchased that this book is not an actual biography of Luke Perry. It had some facts about him as his life story was very loosely intertwined with the author’s. This would be a free Libby library book to listen on the background. Do not waste an audible credit on it.

Oddly

I wasn’t expecting that much. It was very confusing. I’ve had such a crush on Luke. That part was good. But I didn’t get the other part of it.