HarperCollins announced it had acquired Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Jason Priestley’s memoir.
The married 43-year-old Canadian-born actor’s book will touch on his personal life, his 2002 car crash and his five-day stint in jail for drunken driving in 2000.
Priestley will share new revelations about his time on the hit Fox show which aired for 10 seasons, including his complicated relationship with series creator Aaron Spelling and the rift that develoed between the two after the show ended.
He received a multiple six-figure advance for the still untitled book.
Imprint HarperOne will publish the book in Spring 2014.
In a statement Priestley said, “although I’ve only been on the planet for 44 years, I’ve lived a lot in that time. I hope my story will enlighten, entertain, and inspire those who read it.”
Priestley charmed teenage girls for eight of the show’s ten seasons as affable boy- next-door Brandon Walsh. Priestley became more involved behind the scenes in later seasons, and ultimately directed 19 episodes and held his title as execute producer until the show’s demise in 2000.
Since leaving 90210, Priestley has appeared on various TV shows, including guest roles on Medium and My Name is Earl.
While declining to reprise his role in the CW’s 90210 reboot, he did return to direct an episode of the series’ first season that featured guest star Shannon Doherty.
Priestley has carved out a successful careeer directing episodic TV as well, helming about fifty over the years.
He currently stars on the Canadian produced half hour comedy Call Me Fitz, which airs on HBO Canada and streams on Amazon.
Steve Fisher at APA represented Priestley on the book deal, and Nancy Hancock negotiated for Harper Collins.
Priestly joins fellow co-star Tori Spelling, who published her New York Times best-selling memoir sTORI Telling back in 2009, as show alumni to pen a memoir.
Co-star Doherty eschewed the memoir route, but published her own self-help book in 2010 entitled Badass: A Head-Earned Guide to Living Life with Style and (the Right) Attitude (which disappointed some fans with it’s lack of salacious reveals).
Priestly's announcement follows a wave of ‘90’s child celebrity memoirs. Sabrina the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart kicks it off with Melissa Explains It All: Tales from my Abnormally Normal Life, set to hit shelves on October 9, 2013.
Former child star Cory Feldman, heralded for coming of age classics like Stand by Me and The Lost Boys, will release Coreyography: A Memoir a few weeks later on October 29.
email: andy.lewis@thr.com
Twitter: @andyblewis
