Colin Hanks’ Luke Perry story involves a plane, a balloon, and a heartwarming display of kindness

Yesterday, after the sudden passing of Luke Perry, many took to social media to share their remembrances and stories about the ‘90s icon. Though he admittedly “only met him once,” Colin Hanks had a particularly touching tale to share that highlighted not only how effortlessly cool Perry was, but how kind as well. The full story can be found on Hanks’ Instagram and weirdly involves a plane from Mexico, a pair of fighting children, and a balloon.

Hanks’ tale begins by describing the flight from hell, during which two young brothers were noisily fighting to the dismay of everyone else on board. Right at the point when the exhausted passengers were about to lose their minds, however, a mysterious man in a hat and sunglasses emerged from first class with a balloon in hand. “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,” Hanks writes. “Plane damn near bursts into applause.”

It was only after they landed that Hanks realized the balloon-wielding hero was Dylan McKay himself. But before he could give thanks to the actor, Perry initiated the conversation by praising Colin Hanks’ work in Fargo, which must’ve been cool as hell for someone who came of age in the golden era of Beverly Hills 90210. When asked about his heroic actions on the plane, Perry admitted that “he always flies with a couple of balloons for that very reason.” Joke or not, it’s just further proof that Luke Perry was one of the good ones.

Read Hanks’ full story below.

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