Tributes and anecdotes have been pouring in since the news of Luke Perry's death, and Colin Hanks has one of the most heartwarming stories to share.
Vulture reported the actor and son of Tom Hanks shared his first and only encounter with the late "Riverdale" star Monday on Instagram.
"I only met him once but the story is too good not tell given today's sad events," Hanks wrote on the Monday post, which contained a photo of Perry.
Referring to the “Beverly Hills, 90210” actor as a “true gent,” Hanks commended Perry’s ability to calm down two children who were causing a bit of a ruckus on a flight.
“My wife and I are on a plane back from Mexico,” he said. “Couple of rows ahead of us, these two brothers, young kids, are beating the hell out of each other. Their poor parents are powerless to stop the crying, yelling and screaming. If you're a parent you understand. Sometimes there's nothing you can do. It was like this for close to two hours. Then about 10 minutes before landing it starts to get real bad.
“Out of no where, a man comes from first class. Hat, beard, sunglasses, blowing up a balloon. 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. Plane damn near bursts into applause. 15 minutes longer and it probably would have started WWIII, but we landed before that could happen.”
Related: Luke Perry: Things to know about the actor and '90210,' 'Riverdale' star
Once off the flight, Hanks and his wife, Samantha Bryant, were in line at customs and got a better look at the man, who turned out to be Perry.
“As luck would have it we end up standing next to each other,” he wrote. “Out of the blue he turns to me and says some kind words about ‘Fargo,’ which kinda blew my mind. I start singing his praises about how long I've admired him and also about the move with the balloon. ‘That's a pro move! You can't teach that!’ I say. He tells me he always flies with a couple of balloons for that very reason, to give to screaming kids.
“Don’t know if that's true, but have no reason to believe it wasn’t. Guy seemed like a true gent. Gone way too damn soon. Also, I'll be damned if I don't start traveling with some spare balloons.”
Credit: Rich Fury/Getty Images
Credit: Rich Fury/Getty Images
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