Patrick Wayne Swayze
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Patrick Swayze starred in Dirty Dancing 1987 and Ghost 1990, the latter the highest-grossing film of 1990. Born August 18, 1952 in Houston, Texas, he trained as a dancer and returned to Broadway in 2003 as Billy Flynn in Chicago. He died of pancreatic cancer on September 14, 2009 at age 57.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Patrick Swayze — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Patrick Swayze by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Patrick Swayze — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Patrick Wayne Swayze was born on August 18, 1952 in Houston, Texas to Patsy Swayze, a choreographer, and Jesse Wayne Swayze, a chemical plant engineer. His mother owned a dance school where Patrick trained from a young age. He graduated from Waltrip High School in 1971, then studied gymnastics at San Jacinto College. Moving to New York City, he trained with the Harkness Ballet and Joffrey Ballet schools before dancing professionally as Prince Charming in Disney on Parade.
Swayze appeared in Skatetown U.S.A. 1979 and on MASH 1981 as a leukemia patient. He played Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing 1987, earning a Golden Globe nomination. For Ghost 1990, he portrayed Sam Wheat, and the film became the highest-grossing of 1990. In 2003, he performed on Broadway as Billy Flynn in Chicago. Later films like City of Joy 1992 and Black Dog 1998 underperformed at the box office.
Swayze married actress and dancer Lisa Niemi on June 12, 1975; they met when she was 15 and a student at his mother’s dance school. He had a younger brother, actor Don Swayze, and a sister Vicky who died by suicide in 1994. Swayze and Niemi owned a five-acre ranch called Rancho Bizarro in Sylmar, Los Angeles. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2008 and died at the ranch on September 14, 2009 at age 57.
In 1997, Swayze received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His song ‘She’s Like the Wind’ from Dirty Dancing reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. People magazine named him Sexiest Man Alive in 1991. Dirty Dancing was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. His work, particularly Dirty Dancing and Ghost, has been referenced in pop culture, from hip-hop lyrics to Mystery Science Theater 3000. Swayze is remembered for his roles in Dirty Dancing and Ghost.
Browse the complete filmography of Patrick Swayze — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Patrick Swayze — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Patrick Swayze's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Patrick Swayze — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Good Looking People Turn Me Off. Myself Included.
I Have a Great Deal of Faith in Faith; If You Believe Something Strongly Enough, It Becomes True for You. I Would Like to Believe That My Father Is Right Here with Me in This Room and That He’s My Guardian Angel, That There’s Life After Death Because If There Isn’t, Why Are We Here? I Don’t Believe That Just Flesh and Bones Can Contain from the Point of View of Physics This Very Real Recorded Energy Inside of Us. Whether It’s True or Not, We Need to Believe It.
I’m Still Fine to Work, I Haven’t Changed Oh, I Have Changed, What Am I Saying? It’s a Battle Zone I Go Through. Chemo, No Matter How You Cut It, Is Hell on Wheels.
My Big Regret Is the Physical Damage I’ve Done to My Body. I Can Do Almost Anything Physically and I Used to Believe I Was Invincible, Breaking Bones Over and Over, Playing Football, Doing Gymnastics, Diving, Ballet, Doing My Own Stunts, Kickboxing, Staging Fights … It All Seems a Little Stupid to Me Now.
Facing Your Own Mortality Is the Quickest Way Possible to Find Out What You’re Made Of. It Strips Away All the Bull and Exposes Every Part of You, Your Strength, Your Weaknesses, Your Sense of Self, Your Soul. It Also Leads You to Confront Life’s Hardest Questions.
Ooh, I Don’t Know … I Will Go so Far as to Say Probably Smoking Had Something to Do with My Pancreatic Cancer.
I’ve Got … Priorities. It’s Just I’ve Been Dealing with One Thing as It Comes at Time, You Know … in the … Order That It’s Trying to Kill Me. Will Stopping Smoking Now Stop Anything, Change Anything? No. But, When It Looks Like I May Live Longer Than Five Minutes, I’ll Drop Cigarettes Like a Hot Potato.
I’ve Seriously Cut Down. I Was One of Those Dumb Ones That Started Back in the Marlborough Man Days Whose You Know, It Was Cool. I’m a Cowboy. but I’ll Tell You One Thing. I Will Talk so Hard Core Against, Against Smoking for Kids. That’s One Reason I’ve Never Smoked in Front of Children.
I Got Completely Fed up with That Hollywood Blockbuster Mentality. I Couldn’t Take It Seriously Any Longer.
Alcohol and the Craft of Acting Is Not a Smart Combination. You Can Turn Yourself into an Alcoholic If You Start Buying into the ‘Isn’t Life Terrible’ Routine. Nobody Gives You a Shoulder to Cry on Because You Seem to Have so Much Like Money and Fame. Alcohol Breeds Self Pity and I’ve Resorted to It on and off Throughout My Life. but I Kicked It by Making Other Things More Important.
I Had a Lot of Anger Because I Wasn’t Happy with the Way I Had Been Raised. Our Mother Made Us Feel That We Were Never Good Enough. If I Did Anything, I Had to Be the Best Because That’s What My Mother Expected of Me. It Was Hard to Deal With.
Pancreatic Cancer Is an Aggressive Disease and from the Moment I Was Diagnosed, I Knew I Was in for the Fight of My Life.
Am I Dying? Am I Giving Up? Am I on My Death Bed? Am I Saying Goodbye to People? No Way. I Keep Dreaming of a Future, a Future with a Long and Healthy Life, Not Lived in the Shadow of Cancer but in the Light.
My Mother Was a Perfectionist and She Expected the Same in Her Children No Matter What We Did. This Was a Double Edged Sword as Her Pressure Implanted in Me a Burning Desire to Be the Best at Everything, but Also Led to near Constant Deeply Rooted Feeling of Inadequacy.
Little-known facts about Patrick Swayze — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
He began his career as a dancer at Disneyland, playing Prince Charming; one of his Cinderellas was Michelle Pfeiffer.
Swayze turned down a $6,000,000 offer to reprise his role of Johnny Castle in a sequel to Dirty Dancing 1987.
At age 19, he met his future wife Lisa Niemi, then 15, who attended dance lessons with his mother.
He trained in New York with the Harkness and Joffrey ballet schools, later appearing as a dance instructor in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights 2004.
In a January 2009 interview with Barbara Walters, Swayze acknowledged that his history as a recovering alcoholic and heavy smoker may have contributed to his illness; he once admitted to smoking 60 cigarettes a day.
He appeared in Toto’s music video Rosanna as a dancer in a red letterman jacket, alongside his Dirty Dancing co-star Cynthia Rhodes 1982.
Originally cast in Kurt Russell’s role in Tango & Cash 1989, but withdrew to make Road House 1989.
He replaced Kevin Sorbo as the lead in Black Dog 1998 after Sorbo suffered an aneurysm a week into filming.
Swayze owned a five-acre spread called Rancho Bizarro in Sylmar, Los Angeles, where he died on September 14, 2009.
He broke both legs after falling from a horse while filming Letters from a Killer 1998.
People magazine named him one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in 1991 and also Sexiest Man Alive that year.
He was approached for Predator 2 1990 but scheduling conflicts led to Danny Glover being cast.
Received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard on August 18, 1997.
Stayed at the historic Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs while filming Tall Tale 1995; his picture and autograph hang in the lobby.
Continuing treatment for cancer, he told the press he was responding well and was photographed at a Lakers game with his wife.
He made a precautionary landing in his twin-engine Cessna in Prescott Valley, Arizona due to a mechanical problem; unharmed, he hitched a ride to a nearby house to call authorities.
Briefly called King of the Sleepers after the unexpected successes of Dirty Dancing 1987 and Ghost 1990.
Considered for roles in Lethal Weapon 1987, Highlander 1986, and Batman 1989.
He practiced Wushu, Taekwondo, Aikido, Judo, Karate, Wing Chun, and Ukidokan Kickboxing to channel his self-deprecating rage.
Starting in the early 1990s, hip-hop lyrics often included his name or the phrase ‘I’m Swayze’; The Notorious B.I.G. frequently used it.
In 1976, he nearly had his left leg amputated due to a staph infection from a tooth abscess that settled in his weakened knee.
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2008, he continued working while receiving treatment.
Swayze’s father, Jesse Wayne Swayze, died of a heart attack at age 57 in 1982, the same age Patrick died. His mother was dancer Patsy Swayze, and his younger brother is actor Don Swayze; his sister Vicky died by suicide in 1994.
He performed the power ballad ‘She’s Like the Wind’ from Dirty Dancing 1987, which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Immortalized in the song Let’s Have A Patrick Swayze Christmas’ from Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Hospitalized for a week with internal bleeding.
Studied acting at The Beverly Hills Playhouse with Milton Katselas.
Attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, Oak Forest Elementary, and Black Middle School in Houston; graduated Waltrip High School in 1971. Other alumni include Shelley Duvall and The Undertaker.
Body cremated and ashes scattered over his New Mexico ranch.
Born the same year Guiding Light moved from radio to television 1952 and died the same year it aired its finale 2009.
Dirty Dancing 1987 was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
He had English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.
Won the role of Johnny Castle over Eric Roberts for Dirty Dancing 1987.
Ghost 1990 was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
Born at 8:10 AM CST.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Patrick Swayze.
Celebrities similar to Patrick Swayze — same craft, ranked by reach.
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