Patrick Swayze died on Monday at the age of 57 after 20 months battling with pancreatic cancer.
The actor will always be remembered for his role of ‘Dirty Dancing’, a low-budget film which was intended for a brief cinema run before going straight to video. However, the film was a massive international hit which propelled Swayze to stardom, and earned him a Golden Globe nomination. It was the first film to sell one million copies on video, and as of 2007, has earned over €205 million worldwide. The soundtrack – including ‘She’s Like the Wind’, sung by Swayze himself – gave him a number three hit on the US Billboard chart.
Qouted on people.com, Jennifer Grey – Swayze’s co-star (Babe) in Dirty Dancing – “When I think of him, I think of being in his arms when we were kids, dancing, practicing the lift in the freezing lake, having a blast doing this tiny little movie we thought no one would ever see.”
She added Swayze was a “real cowboy with a tender heart”, who wanted to perform his own stunts that “it was not surprising to me that the war he waged on his cancer was so courageous and dignified”.
“Patrick was a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace. My heart goes out to his wife and childhood sweetheart, Lisa Niemi, to his mum Patsy and to the rest of their family.”
His other most memorable film is Ghost, which also starred Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. Moore tweeted: “Patrick you are loved by so many and your light will forever shine in all of our lives.”
“Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can’t ever repay. I believe in Ghost’s message, so he’ll always be near,” Goldberg said.
In early 2008, the actor – son of a choreographer and dance instructor and an engineer, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He fought his illness as best he could though he still hoped for a miracle to cure him. He even worked in teleseries ‘The Beast’ which started showing this year.
During his last interview on ABC news last December, Swayze had said: “Cancer wouldn’t go away. Mind you I keep my heart, my soul and my spirit open to miracles… I pray. I pulled off 10 months when most people would be long dead before now. So I’m going from moment to moment. I can live through this, I can live through that, I’ll live through the next one. Just keep throwing at me.”
Most important films
1983 The Outsiders (mini- series)
1987 Dirty Dancing
1990 Ghost
1991 Point Break
1995 To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything
2001 Donnie Darko
2006 Guys and Dolls (musi cal)
2009 The Beast (TV series)
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It was the first film to sell one million copies on video, and as of 2007, has earned over €205 million worldwide. The soundtrack – including ‘She’s Like the Wind’, sung by Swayze himself – gave him a number three hit on the US Billboard chart.
