"This is not Dynasty."
So said Aaron Spelling scion Randy, dismissing speculation that the TV titan’s family was torn by Carrington-sized grievances even as it grieved.
Patriarch Aaron Spelling, the prodigious producer of hits such as Charlie’s Angels, Beverly Hills 90210, 7th Heaven, and the backbiting family soap opera that was Dynasty, died Friday at the age of 83.
A private family service was held Sunday.
"This is a real family [that] loves each other," Randy Spelling said through longtime Aaron Spelling publicist Kevin Sasaki, per the Los Angeles Times.
Among those present and accounted for at the service: Tori Spelling and her new husband, actor Dean McDermott.
Early reports, based on information from Spelling’s longtime publicist, said wife Candy and son Randy, but not daughter Tori, were at Spelling’s bedside when the show-biz legend died. The news seemed to confirm reports of a family feud. But, as it turned out, Randy Spelling was not at his father’s side, either. (The son was en route, Spelling’s publicist later clarified.)
In the end, Tori Spelling herself all but confirmed the family-feud angle, albeit with a heartfelt spin. In a statement over the weekend, Tori Spelling said she and her famed father and former 90210 employer had recently reconciled.
"I am honored to be Aaron Spelling’s daughter," the actress said. "He had a heart that was as big as his talent."
Among the non-Spellings paying tribute to the producer was Alyssa Milano, of Spelling’s just-ended Charmed. Like Spelling’s more charitable critics, Milano praised the producer for "always ha[ving] his finger on the pulse of pop culture."
"He was one of the most loyal men in this business," Milano said in a statement, "and believed in me at a time in my career when no one else would."
Original Charlie’s Angels star Jaclyn Smith called her onetime boss a "dear friend and a truly genuine human being."
Stephen Collins, of Spelling’s still-running 7th Heaven, remembered the legend as a man. In a statement, Collins said Spelling was "was quiet, soft-spoken, gentlemanly, shy, and loved actors, having started as one himself."
A memorial service for Spelling’s Hollywood colleagues will be held in the coming weeks, the family said.
Also on the horizon, as reportedly promised by the ex-wife of Dean McDermott, a new book to be titled, My Husband Left Me for Tori Spelling.
Maybe things are just a little bit like Dynasty…
E! Online
