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Margaret Wappler

Biography

Margaret Wappler

Margaret Wappler is the author of the novel NEON GREEN and the biography A GOOD BAD BOY: Luke Perry and How a Generation Grew Up. She has written about the arts and pop culture for the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Elle, The Believer, The Village Voice and other publications. She lives in Los Angeles.

Margaret Wappler

Books by Margaret Wappler

A Good Bad Boy: Luke Perry and How a Generation Grew Up
by Margaret Wappler - Biography, Nonfiction, Performing Arts, Popular Culture

Best known for playing loner rebel Dylan McKay on “Beverly Hills 90210,” Luke Perry was 52 years old when he died of a stroke in 2019. There have been other deaths of ’90s 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.