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Quick Facts
- NAME: Patrick Swayze
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor, Singer
- BIRTH DATE: August 18, 1952
- DEATH DATE: September 14, 2009
- EDUCATION: San Jacinto College
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Houston, Texas
- PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, California
- Full Name: Patrick Wayne Swayze
Best Known For
Patrick Swayze was a Golden-Globe winning, beloved actor, as well as a singer, songwriter, and dancer, who died of pancreatic cancer in September of 2009.
Videos see all videos
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Patrick Swayze - Ghost (7:49)
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Patrick Swayze - Full Biography (45:30)
Patrick Swayze - Dirty Dancing
After years fearing his dance training would hold back his acting career, Patrick Swayze landed the role of Johnny Castle in "Dirty Dancing." Performing his own dancing and stunts, the movie made him an instant sensation.
Patrick Swayze - Early Years as a Dancer
Patrick Swayze moved to New York in 1975 to dance with the Eliot Feld ballet. In 1976, his dance career was almost ended by a staph infection. Once he recovered, he landed the lead role in "Grease" on Broadway.
Patrick Swayze - Ghost
Patrick Swayze campaigned heavily for the lead in "Ghost" and delivered the performance of a lifetime. His love scene with Demi Moore and his comedic scenes with Whoopi Goldberg are now a part of cinematic history.
Patrick Swayze - Full Biography
Patrick Swayze soared to stardom in "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," but his personal life was filled with heartaches, including a knee injury that nearly cost him a leg, his sister's suicide, and his battle with pancreatic cancer.
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Play NowPatrick Swayze. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:59, Jun 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/patrick-swayze-9542318.
Patrick Swayze. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/patrick-swayze-9542318 [Accessed 18 Jun 2013].
"Patrick Swayze." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 18 2013, 10:59 http://www.biography.com/people/patrick-swayze-9542318.
"Patrick Swayze," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/patrick-swayze-9542318 [accessed Jun 18, 2013].
"Patrick Swayze," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/patrick-swayze-9542318 (accessed Jun 18, 2013).
Patrick Swayze [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/patrick-swayze-9542318.
Patrick Swayze, http://www.biography.com/people/patrick-swayze-9542318 (last visited Jun 18, 2013).
Patrick Swayze. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/patrick-swayze-9542318. Accessed Jun 18, 2013.
Synopsis
Quotes
Aspiring Dancer
Born Patrick Wayne Swayze on August 18th, 1952, in Houston, Texas. Swayze and his four siblings were raised by their parents Patsy and Jesse Swayze. Swayze's mother, director of the Houston Jazz Ballet Company, introduced her son to dance at an early age.
While still in grade school, Swayze developed a love for ballet and was often teased by fellow classmates. Throughout high school, he set aside his dance career to concentrate on athletics — juggling gymnastics, swimming, and football. After graduation, he was offered both athletic and dance scholarships. He opted for athletics and enrolled at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, where he focused on gymnastics. Two years later, Swayze left school to tour with the Disney on Parade ice show, as Snow White's Prince Charming.
After touring, Swayze returned home, where he fell in love with Lisa Niemi, his mother's 16-year-old dance student. In 1972, he traveled to New York City to pursue a dance career. After Lisa's high school graduation, she joined Swayze in New York, where the couple trained with the Harkness and Joffrey Ballet companies. Swayze and Niemi were married in 1975.
Having renewed his dedication to ballet, Swayze was soon hired as a principal dancer with the Eliot Feld Ballet Company. His success was cut short when an old football injury required that he undergo knee surgery. The operation, coupled with the infection that followed, caused Swayze to leave the prestigious Feld Company.
Turn to Acting
In 1976, he redirected his efforts toward stage acting, and made his Broadway debut in Goodtime Charley. He later appeared in West Side Story, and in 1978, he won the leading role in the musical Grease. Swayze's high-profile performance as Danny Zuko led to many television and movie offers.
Eventually, his stage success brought him to Hollywood, where he made his film debut as a vigilante roller skater in Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979). Swayze experienced a milestone in 1983, when director Francis Ford Coppola cast him in The Outsiders, alongside future stars Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Emilio Estevez.
In 1981, Swayze added television to his repertoire with a notable portrayal of a leukemia patient on the series M*A*S*H. He is also credited for his work in the 1985 miniseries North and South along with the 1986 sequel. During the mid-80s, Swayze appeared in a few forgettable films, including Red Dawn and Grandview, U.S.A. (1984). However, the release of the surprise hit Dirty Dancing (1987) brought Swayze instant celebrity and established him as Hollywood's newest heartthrob. The film featured him as the misunderstood dance instructor Johnny Castle, a role that earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
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