It's unclear whether the former President of the United States really came up to Perry and Priestley at a burger joint to tell them he and his wife watched 90210, but we like to think he did.ĩ. Ronald and Nancy Reagan were fans of the show. He called it something fancy like "counter-programming," but really it was a play for a ratings grab - and it paid off big time.Ĩ. As other networks canceled their programming to switch to a 24-hour news cycle, Dillard decided to go gangbusters in the other direction and run an entire summer of brand new 90210 episodes. The show probably would have been canceled if it weren't for the first Gulf War.ĩ0210 was on the chopping block when the first Gulf War broke out. Ultimately, the powers-that-be forced co-creator Darren Starr and the writers to break up Brenda and Dylan … before they could (gasp!) have sex again.ħ. When Brenda lost her virginity to Dylan and then seemed to delight in her decision, advertisers pulled out and the network execs flipped. Today it barely ticks the radar when teenagers hook up on network TV, but 25 years ago, that was not the case. The network freaked out when Brenda lost her virginity to Dylan - and then boasted about it to her friends instead of showing remorse. ( Watch her take a lie detector test about which costars she hooked up with!)Ħ. Oh, Tori and Brian Austin Green (school DJ David Silver) also hooked up kind of a lot. Not that it's super surprising or anything, but Priestley made out with both Jennie Garth (vixen Kelly Taylor) and Doherty, who also made out with Perry, who also made out with Jennie. Basically, everyone made out with everyone else.
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If it weren't for her, these two might never have been siblings Brenda and Brandon Walsh.ĥ. Tori seemed to fancy herself as a young Hollywood insider (which, to be fair, she clearly was), and told her dad she knew all of the up-and-coming talent (which, to be fair, she clearly did). If this unauthorized version of the making of 90210 is to be believed, it was Tori who convinced her father to cast Doherty and Priestley. Shannen Doherty and Jason Priestley can thank Tori Spelling for their careers. When audiences went gaga over the resident bad boy, he was upgraded to a regular cast member.Ĥ. The producer ultimately put his money where his mouth was and paid the young actor out of his own pocket to ensure him a spot. Luke Perry only got the part because Aaron Spelling paid him out of his own pocket.įox execs didn't like Luke, but Spelling did. But when execs decided the show needed a bad boy, they called Perry back and cast him as Dylan McKay.ģ.
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He originally read for the part of Steve Sanders, which went to Ian Ziering. PHOTOS: Beverly Hills, 90210 cast then and now Read articleĪnd he was on the brink of giving acting up entirely when he first read for the show.