Jenny Garth, Tory Bann mourns ‘brave’ Shannen Doherty after her death: ‘Tremendous grief’
Jenny Garth and Tori Spelling have paid tribute to their “Beverly Hills, 90210” co-star Shannen Doherty following her death at age 53.
Both actresses took to Instagram on Sunday to honor Doherty, who died Saturday after a year-long battle with breast cancer.
Garth, 52, posted two throwback photos of her and Doherty on the Fox teen drama show, where they played Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh, respectively. He also included a heartfelt message about their relationship.
“I am still processing my tremendous grief over the loss of my longtime friend Shannen, a woman I have often described as one of the strongest people I know,” Garth wrote.
“Our connection was real and honest,” he continued. “We often competed against each other but none of that reflected the truth of our true relationship which was built on mutual respect and admiration. He was brave, passionate, determined and extremely loving and generous.”
“I will miss him and always hold him deeply in my heart and in my memory,” Garth added. “My heart breaks for his family and Bowie and everyone who loved him.”
Spelling, 51, honored Doherty with a selfie of the pair and four-and-a-half rows of broken-heart emojis on her Instagram story.
“I still don’t have external words, but we knew and that’s what matters,” she wrote on the photo.
Spelling starred as Donna Martin in the 1990s series, which was co-created and executive produced by her late father, Aaron Spelling.
Other cast members, including Jason Priestley, Brian Austin Green, Gabrielle Carteris and Carol Potter, also paid tribute to Doherty on social media.
Doherty was on the first four seasons of “Beverly Hills, 90210” before her character left the show.
In 2015, Spelling admitted that he played a large role in Doherty losing his job. She claimed in the Lifetime special, “Tori Spelling: Celebrity Lie Detector,” that she told her father that Doherty and Garth were not getting along, to the point of their nearly physical fight.
“I felt like I was a part of something, a movement, that made someone’s living,” Banan said. “Was he a terrible person? No. He was one of my best friends.”
Doherty and Garth didn’t always get along when they worked together on the show. In Garth’s 2014 memoir, “Deep Thoughts from a Hollywood Blonde”, she said of Doherty: “There were times when we loved each other and there were times when we wanted to close each other’s eyes.”
However, the pair managed to reunite and form a close bond years after the show ended.
“I see him at conventions, and we talk and, you know, we laugh,” Doherty said of Garth on his podcast, “Let’s Be Clear,” in May.
“I mean, those conventions, we work really hard, but we’re all good… Jenny and I were young, and there are things that maybe I would have done differently back then, back then, but I don’t really do that particular show. Hold no grudge against anyone.”
“I just think we were all experiencing things for the first time,” Doherty continued. “And when you’re experiencing something for the first time, you have to make allowances for mistakes and sometimes poor judgment on my part, maybe theirs.”
Sadly, Doherty isn’t the first “Beverly Hills, 90210” actor to die.
Her on-screen love interest, Dylan McKay, played by Luke Perry, died of a stroke in 2019. He was 52.
Jed Allan (Steve Sanders’ father, Rush), Dennis Dawes (high school guidance counselor Mrs. Yvonne Teasley), Joe E. Tata (Peach Pit owner Nat Busicchio) and David Gale (Brenda’s fiance, Stewart Carson) are also dead.