Quentin Tarantino and Luke Perry (in his final motion picture role) based Perry’s character in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood on the CBS TV western Lancer, starring Wayne Maunder as Scott Lancer and James Stacy as Johnny Madrid Lancer, former gunslinger.
Luke Perry passed away in March of 2019 at the age of 52 after suffering a "massive" stroke.
In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Luke Perry plays an actor from a TV show that Leonardo DiCaprio's character Rick Dalton stars in. “His performance is amazing,” Tarantino stated. “And he will be remembered as we release this movie, and his family will celebrate his performance with us.”
DiCaprio tweeted after learning of Perry’s death, “Luke Perry was a kindhearted and incredibly talented artist. It was an honor to be able to work with him. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his loved ones.”
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a crime thriller written, directed and produced by Quentin Tarantino. Starring Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Timothy Olyphant, Burt Reynolds (I’m guessing his final role as well), Al Pacino, Tim Roth, Zoe Bell, Michael Madsen, Damian Lewis, Luke Perry, Emile Hirsch and Dakota Fanning. The motion picture is set in 1969 Hollywood against the backdrop of the Charles Manson murders.
In the film, Luke Perry portrays real-life actor Wayne Maunder; Maunder’s Lancer co-star James Stacy will be portrayed by Timothy Olyphant. “What a lovely guy” Olyphant told Variety about Perry. “Just a lovely guy. I’m going to miss him at that premiere. I’m going to miss him. I’m going to miss him anyway.”
WIKI: In 1973, James Stacy was hit by a drunk driver while on his motorcycle, resulting in the amputation of his left leg and arm and the death of his girlfriend. He returned to acting in 1975 before retiring in 1992. He was convicted of child sex abuse in 1995 and served a six-year prison sentence.
Wayne Maunder’s first big TV role came after he was cast as the lead in Custer on ABC in 1967. "I was asked if I would like to play Custer," he told Hollywood columnist Bob Foster. "It seemed too good to be true. I was living in a small, cheap hotel, and the word spread fast. Not until the pilot was shot and ABC bought the series did I realize how far I had come.”
Maunder passed away in 2018. How Tarantino plans to tie him to the Manson cult is anyone’s guess.
Lancer aired Tuesday nights at 7:30 on CBS from September 24, 1968, to June 23, 1970 with reruns on CBS in the summer of 1971.
Here's an episode - amazing opening theme for Lancer, with flashy graphics similar to other shows the time, notably Land of the Giants and Cannon.
