Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty had legendary battles on set, and it usually fell to Tori Spelling to break it off before things escalate. Garth says that Doherty never kept her ideas to herself, even though Garth relates she never did it very nicely.
They may have acted like best friends – or at least frenemies – on the show, but putting teenager actresses together and you’ll often find flying sparks. Spelling tried her hardest to smooth things over, but more often than not failed. Doherty and Garth have since made up, and they might have Spelling to thank for whatever remained of their relationship.
Just Peachy
The Peach Pit was one of the most well known settings from the show — a diner and favorite hangout of all the characters. According to executive producer Charles Rosin, the setting was based on a real diner called The Apple Pan in West Los Angeles. A lot of "Beverly Hills 90210" took place in that diner.
While The Peach Pit is pure fiction, The Apple Pan is still around. As musician Tori Amos says, it even serves the best burgers in the world! What fan of the show didn't want to spend an afternoon with all the characters chowing down on some delicious food?
Lying by Omission
Other than Gabrielle Carteris who played Andrea, there is another famous face who was much older than the character he played. Ian Ziering chose not to tell producers his real age when he auditioned for the part of sixteen-year-old Steve Sanders. He was twenty-eight, but that question went unasked.
He later said that during the audition for "Beverly Hills 90210," he was thinking: “If they're going to buy it, I'm going to sell it!” He sold it well enough, and the producers, as well as audiences all around the world, bought it. The rest was history, and played that character so convincingly.
Pitt and Priestley
The friendship between Jason Priestley and Luke Perry was a match made in bromance heaven. Did you know there was an even more legendary friendship brewing behind the scenes? It turns out Priestley was rooming with none other than future megastar Brad Pitt while he was filming the show. Pitt may have even tried out for the show!
Pitt probably didn't mind that much, since it was during that time he landed a big break as Geena Davis's love interest in " Thelma and Louise." The rest is Hollywood history and Pitt would go on to star in classics such as "Se7en," "Fight Club," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," to name a few.
The Cast Thought the Show Would Fail
Truth be told, "Beverly Hills 90210" wasn't a hit when it first aired, and even the cast members thought they would soon be looking for work. James Eckhouse, who played Mr. Walsh, says he and Priestly had bets with each other on when the show would get cut from the lineup. We're dead serious.
Zuckerman assumed she would have to get a waitressing job, and Ziering thought the show was too “superficial.” Thankfully, they all turned out to be wrong, superficial or not – the show lasted ten whole seasons and was one of the biggest television hits of the nineties.