Actor Patrick Swayze, who combined sex appeal with every-man charm, died on Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, at the age of 57. He “passed away peacefully with his family at his side,” said his publicist. Take a look back at his memorable life and career.
Patrick Wayne Swayze, born Aug. 18, 1952, in Houston, Texas, was an American actor, singer, dancer and sex symbol. Take a look back at his life and most memorable roles, from 'Dirty Dancing' to 'Ghost,' to so much more. He died Sept. 14, 2009, at the age of 57 after a public battle with pancreatic cancer.
Actor Patrick Swayze, who combined sex appeal with every-man charm, died on Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, at the age of 57. He “passed away peacefully with his family at his side,” said his publicist. Take a look back at his memorable life and career.
Patrick Swayze, the son of an engineer and a dance teacher, grew up in Houston, Tex., where he was first taught to dance by his mother. He went on to study ballet in New York and land the lead role of Danny Zuko in a Broadway production of “Grease” in the 1970s. Swayze is pictured here in 1982.
In one of his earliest roles, Swayze (2nd from the right) appeared alongside an all-star cast in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders” in 1983.
Swayze (center) starred alongside C. Thomas Howell and Charlie Sheen in the futuristic military thriller “Red Dawn” in 1984. Howell, who also appeared in “The Outsiders,” says of Swayze, “Not only did we lose a fine actor, I also lost my older ‘Outsiders’ brother. I have always had a special place in my heart for Patrick.”
Young and handsome, Swayze is pictured in 1985. Fans were saddened to watch him become a shadow of his former self as he underwent chemotherapy in his struggle with the illness that eventually took his life.
The role that really shot him to fame was opposite Jennifer Grey in “Dirty Dancing” in 1987. Playing Johnny Castle, a working-class dance instructor at a Catskills resort, he uttered the memorable line “Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” and even contributed a song, “She’s Like the Wind,” to the film’s best-selling soundtrack.
Swayze starred alongside Grey in “Dirty Dancing.” The actor once said, “My acting will be my legacy.”
A portrait of the newly-minted leading man at home with his dog in 1987.
Swayze and ‘Dirty Dancing’ co-star Jennifer Grey pose at the Academy Awards in 1988, following the release of the surprise hit that cemented his status as a sex symbol and romantic lead.
When not showing off his dance moves or romantic lead chops, Swayze’s showed off his fighting chops as an action hero. Swayze starred alongside Sam Elliott, who played a bouncer hired to tame bar mayhem, in 1989’s “Road House.”
Perhaps his other best-loved performance was with Demi Moore (pictured) and Whoopi Goldberg in the 1990 supernatural romance “Ghost.” Goldberg praised him as “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.”
In the wake of his success, Swayze wasn’t afraid to poke fun at himself. Here, he plays an aspiring Chippendale dancer as the host of “Saturday Night Live” alongside Chris Farley in September 1990.
In 1991, Swayze starred alongside Keanu Reeves (r.) as a thrill-seeking, bank-robbing surfer in “Point Break.”
Always confident enough to subvert his image, Swayze (center) starred with Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo as a trio of drag queens on a cross-country journey in the 1995 film “To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar.”
Swayze shows Oprah and a live audience how he learned to walk like a woman for the role on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 1995.
But his best romantic role was the one he played off the screen. Swayze kisses his wife, Lisa, after the unveiling of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood in 1997.
The couple is seen at the opening of Planet Hollywood in Dubai in 1998.
Swayze’s action persona carried over to real life as well. He was an accomplished pilot who safely made an emergency landing in an Arizona subdivision in 2000.
When he wasn’t playing a girl, Swayze always got the girl. He cuddled up to Charlize Theron in 2002’s “Waking Up In Reno.”
Pictured in Beverly Hills, Calif. in 2002. Ever the trooper, Patrick refused to use painkillers while filming his final acting job, “The Beast,” for fear it would dull his performance.
The actor made a cameo in the “Dirty Dancing” sequel “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” in 2004. Swayze posed alongside the film’s star, Diego Luna, at the premiere.
While he didn’t see another hit on the same level of “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost,” Swayze’s passion for acting kept him on screen. He was seen on TV in the 2004 movie “King Solomon’s Mine.”
Pictured, Swayze and his wife Niemi pose at the Portrait Studio during the AFI Fest 2005 at the Arclight Theatre on Nov. 5, 2005, in Hollywood, Calif.
In 2006, he made his London stage debut, playing the lead role of Sky Masterson in “Guys and Dolls.” Here he’s seen with costar Claire Sweeney.
Swayze and his wife Lisa Niemi pose backstage during the 9th annual Costume Guild Awards held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Feb. 17, 2007, in Beverly Hills, Calif. A few months before his death, Niemi told People magazine, “I would be happy if he’s around for a long time, and I am being whatever I need to be to help him do that.”
Swayze celebrated the completion of season one of “The Beast” in November 2008 at a wrap party in Chicago. Sadly, it would turn out to be the only season for “The Beast,” as the show was canceled in June due to Swayze’s illness.
Swayze’s A&E TV show, “The Beast,” which he managed to shoot while undergoing chemotherapy, premiered on Jan. 15, 2009. It turned out to be his last major acting work.
Swayze was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer about a year before his death and was given six months to live. The actor, shown here smoking a cigarette on Feb. 2, 2009, battled hard for his life. He told Barbara Walters in early 2009, “I want to last until they find a cure…I keep my heart and soul and my spirit open to miracles.”
Swayze’s healthy appearance at a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game in May 2009 helped shoot down tabloid headlines that the actor had just days to live.
When he died, Swayze left behind his wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi. Here, the couple posed together on May 13, 2009, in what turned out to be the last few months of the actor’s life.
Fans of the actor left flowers on his Walk of Fame star after news of his death began to circulate on Sept. 14, 2009. He leaves behind more than 30 films as well as his work on television, which will keep his presence alive for generations to come.
