PATRICK SWAYZE was a charming cinematic rogue who starred as Sam Wheat in the romantic fantasy Ghost (1990). He portrayed the murdered lover of Demi Moore, who was able to communicate with his wife through a psychic, played by Whoopi Goldberg in an Oscar-winning performance.
Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, on April 18, 1952. His mother was choreographer Patsy Swayze, and Patrick trained as a dancer in the early 1970s. He made his film debut in the roller-disco flick Skatetown, U.S.A. in 1979.
Swayze earned honorary membership in `the Brat Pack’ with his role as Rob Lowe and C. Thomas Howell’s older brother in the 1983 film The Outsiders. He starred as Jed Eckert, leader of the Wolverines, the young freedom fighters who battled Soviet invaders in John Milius’ 1984 Cold War classic Red Dawn.
He was featured in an episode of Steven Spielberg’s fantasy television series Amazing Stories. He was best known for his role as Johnny Castle, the dynamic dance instructor in the 1987 classic hit Dirty Dancing. He starred as Nomad in the 1987 post-apocalyptic action film Steel Dawn with his wife, Lisa Niemi. He had another hit with the 1989 action film Road House, and remained an action hero with Next of Kin, also in 1989. Swayze also played a Zen-quoting surfer and bank robber in the 1991 cult classic Point Break.
Swayze eclectic film credits also include Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill (1995) as Pecos Bill, To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) as the drag queen Vida, Three Wishes (1995), the surreal sci-fi thriller Donnie Darko (2001) as closet pedophile Jim Cunningham, George and the Dragon (2004), the tele-film King Solomon’s Mines (2004) as Allan Quatermain, and the animated The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006).
Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008, but continued to work, starring as veteran FBI agent Charles Barker on the A&E series The Beast. He died after his long battle in Los Angeles, California, on September 14, 2009, at the age of 57.
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