Patrick Swayze 1952-2009

Patrick Wayne Swayze
was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best-known for his roles as romantic leading men in the films Dirty Dancing and Ghost and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991.

Diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in January 2008, Swayze told Barbara Walters a year later that he wanted the media to report that he was "kicking it".He died from the disease in September 2009His last role was the lead in an A&E TV series, The Beast, which premiered on January 15, 2009. Owing to a prolonged decline in health, Swayze was unable to promote the series, and on June 15, 2009, Entertainment Tonight reported that the show had been cancelled.

Swayze's first professional appearance was as a dancer for Disney on Parade. He starred as a replacement for Danny Zuko in the long-running Broadway production of Grease[12] before his début film role as "Ace" in Skatetown, U.S.A.. He appeared as Pvt. Sturgis in the M*A*S*H episode "Blood Brothers" and had a brief stint in 1982 on a short lived TV series The Renegades playing a gang leader named Bandit. Swayze became known to the film industry after appearing in The Outsiders as the older brother of C. Thomas Howell and Rob Lowe. Swayze, Howell, and Howell's friend Darren Dalton reunited in Red Dawn the next year, and Lowe and Swayze reunited in Youngblood. He was considered a member of the Brat Pack.[15] His first major success was in the 1985 television miniseries North and South, which was set during the American Civil War.

Swayze's breakthrough role came with his performance as dance instructor Johnny Castle in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, alongside his Red Dawn co-star, Jennifer Grey. Dirty Dancing was a low-budget project that was intended to be shown in theaters for one weekend only and then go straight to video, but it became a surprise hit and achieved massive international success. It was the first film to sell one million copies on video, and as of 2007, has earned over US$300 million worldwide and spawned several alternate versions, ranging from a television series to stage productions to a computer game. Swayze received a Golden Globe Award nomination for the role and also sang one of the songs on the soundtrack, "She's Like the Wind," which he had originally co-written with Stacy Widelitz for the film Grandview, U.S.A. The song became a top ten hit and has been covered by other artists, such as David Hasselhoff, and in 2006 was converted into a hip-hop version by Lumidee, who took it to the top of the charts in Germany.

After Dirty Dancing, Swayze found himself heavily typecast and appeared in several flops, of which Road House was the most successful. His biggest hit came in 1990, when he starred in Ghost, with Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg.[18] This role had considerable cultural impact, and modern hip-hop lyrics routinely used the phrase "I'm Swayze" (meaning "I'm ghost," which is in turn slang for "I'm leaving") in reference to that film. In 1991, he starred alongside Youngblood cast mate Keanu Reeves in another major action hit, Point Break, and was also chosen by People magazine as that year's "Sexiest Man Alive."

Swayze was seriously injured in 1998 while filming HBO's Letters from a Killer near Ione, California, when he fell from a horse and hit a tree. Both of his legs were broken and he suffered four detached tendons in his shoulder. Filming was suspended for two months, but the film aired in 1999. Swayze recovered from his injuries, but he had trouble resuming his career until 2000, when he co-starred in Waking Up in Reno, with Billy Bob Thornton and Charlize Theron, and in Forever Lulu, with Melanie Griffith.

In 2001, he appeared in Donnie Darko, where he played a motivational speaker and closet pedophile, and in 2004, he played Allan Quatermain in King Solomon's Mines. He also had a cameo appearance in the Dirty Dancing sequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights as an unnamed dance instructor.

Swayze made his West End theatre début in the musical Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit on July 27, 2006,] alongside Neil Jerzak, and remained in the role until November 25, 2006. His previous appearances on the Broadway stage had included productions of Goodtime Charley (1975) and Chicago (2003).

In 2007, Swayze starred in the film Christmas in Wonderland. Swayze played an ageing rock star in Powder Blue, co-starring his younger brother Don in their first film together. Swayze starred in the A&E FBI drama The Beast, filmed in Chicago, as FBI Agent Charles Barker.

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[celdglk]

the music is "Unchained Melody" playied in slow motion

[cldsrn]

Rest in peace,Patrick!

[MsPurplefish]

What a beautiful person he was, his soul and spirit came through on film. We will always have his films to remember him. peace!

[dougssmookie]

AWESOME JOB...............I GREW UP WITH HIM ....I CRIED LIKE A BABY....and miss him to death......Besides, dirtydancing, and ghost, MY OTHER FAVORITE, was the mini-series........He did such a wonderful job. I admire the way he stay true and loved his wife so much and his animals......he was one the greastest and always will be..... R.I.P.

[denissr100]

its makes me sad to see patrick go i grew up in Houston at the same time he did sad im still alive and hes not i was growing old watching his movies he was a year older then me makes me wonder how long i have left and what kind of death will finally take my life. hope to see you in Heaven Patrick

[reniamiko]

Wsapaniały aktor i takim go zapamiętamy...

[MrMaxxy2009]

Ég veled SAM!!!!

[zoe59000]

Bonjour je voudrai savoir le titre du film ou il fait ce film en rolleures a ses début , mais en français merci ,ll me manque que ce film

Il était notre Acteur préférer ainsi Que Lisa

Niemi son Epouse couple sublime de danseurs ,et quel homme courageux. devant cette maladie sournoise qu'est le cancer du

Pancréas !je souhaite beaucoup de courage a son Epouse l'absence est terrible ! Je suis dans ce cas depuis près de 5 ans après 48 années de mariage .....

[MarimarCando]

Thanks for your films,eras un gran actor y un hombre muy guapo,nse xq aveces la vida es asi,q descanse en paz.

[hustletv]

Hip Hop Icon! R.I.P

[muddycarl666]

that was so beautiful, we will mis you patrick, i am crying now

R.I.P

[sodaslowik]

RIP Patrick !!! Magnifique acteur !! tu resteras toujours dans nos mémoires Orry main !!

[FudgeCocoful]

wow. so depressing. This actaully made me want to cry a little.