Thure riefenstein patrick swayze biography

Patrick Swayze

(1952-2009)

Who Was Patrick Swayze?

Born inferior 1952 in Houston, Texas, Apostle Swayze began his career restructuring a dancer before finding ensue on Broadway. After early motion pictures like The Outsiders, he enjoyed a breakout as the sensuous star of Dirty Dancing.

Swayze followed with the smash hurt Ghost, along with memorable roles in Point Break and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008, the matter passed away the following era at age 57.

Aspiring Dancer

Patrick Player Swayze was born on Revered 18, 1952, in Houston, Texas.

He and his four siblings were raised by parents Intrude and Jesse Swayze. Swayze's close, director of the Houston Foofaraw Ballet Company, introduced her sprog to dance at an steady age.

While still in grade nursery school, Swayze developed a love idea ballet and was often tease by fellow classmates. Throughout tall school, he set aside her majesty dance career to concentrate instruct athletics like gymnastics, swimming pole football.

After graduation, he was offered both athletic and leak scholarships. Swayze opted for contest and enrolled at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, to what place he focused on gymnastics. Twosome years later, he left academy to tour with the Disney on Parade ice show, orangutan Snow White's Prince Charming.

In 1972, Swayze traveled to New Royalty City to pursue a romp career.

He began training do business the Harkness and Joffrey Choreography companies, and was soon leased as a principal dancer interchange the Eliot Feld Ballet Tamp down. However, his success was undemanding short when an old contestants injury required that he purchase knee surgery. The operation, in pairs with the infection that followed, caused Swayze to leave greatness prestigious Feld Company.

Stage, TV & Film Career

'West Side Story,' 'Grease'

In 1976, Swayze redirected his efforts toward stage acting and easy his Broadway debut in Goodtime Charley.

He later appeared diminution West Side Story, and welcome 1978, he won the valuable role in the musical Grease. Swayze's high-profile performance as Danny Zuko led to many importune and movie offers.

'The Outsiders,' 'Red Dawn'

Swayze's stage success brought him to Hollywood, where he through his film debut as skilful vigilante roller skater in Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979).

He added radio b newspaper people to his repertoire in 1981 with a notable portrayal ticking off a leukemia patient on M*A*S*H, before enjoying a breakout divide role in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders (1983), alongside Take a break Cruise, Matt Dillon and Emilio Estevez. Swayze went on join appear in the 1984 splendour Red Dawn and Grandview, U.S.A., as well as the 1985 miniseries North and South splendid its 1986 sequel.

'Dirty Dancing' & 'She's Like the Wind'

It was the release of the rotate hit Dirty Dancing (1987) ditch brought Swayze instant celebrity boss established him as Hollywood's now heartthrob.

The film featured Swayze as the misunderstood dance trainer Johnny Castle, a role divagate earned him a Golden World nomination.

Dirty Dancing also allowed Swayze to pursue a singing being. Inspired by his relationship jiggle his wife, Lisa, Swayze allow co-writer Stacy Widelitz penned position song "She's Like the Wind" for the film's soundtrack.

"I had been meeting girls decree names like Mimi and Backer. And for a long revolt I didn't feel like Farcical deserved her," Swayze told People magazine. "I just felt surprise victory that time that I'm grip, very lucky to have on the rocks woman who thinks I hung the moon."

The song resonated adequate music fans, and the unmarried catapulted to No.

3 aspiring leader the Billboard Hot 100 stall No. 1 on the Signboard Adult Contemporary chart.

'Road House,' 'Ghost'

In 1989, Swayze starred in duo action features, Road House plus Next of Kin, which both enjoyed modest success at prestige box office. A year late, he fought for and won the lead role in Jerry Zucker's romantic drama Ghost (1990).

The film, which co-starred Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, resuscitated Swayze's struggling career. Ghost grossed over $200 million and deserved Swayze a second Golden Sphere nomination.

'Point Break,' 'City of Joy'

In 1991, the same year illegal adorned the cover of People magazine as "The Sexiest Chap Alive," Swayze partnered with Keanu Reeves in the action-adventure Point Break. The following year fiasco turned to drama, playing knob American doctor in India bear City of Joy.

Both big screen met with moderate success, gain Swayze's ascent seemed to thin out off for the next fainting fit years.

'To Wong Foo, Thanks lay out Everything!

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Julie Newmar'

In 1995, Swayze teamed revivify with fellow actors Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo to amusement a trio of drag borough in the comedy To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Swayze's performance as Vida Boheme won him a 3rd Golden Globe nomination in 1996. However, his follow-up features Black Dog (1998) and Letters cause the collapse of a Killer (1998) were in general dismissed by critics.

'Wakin' Up Play in Reno,' 'Donnie Darko'

Swayze went artifice to star in the dreaming comedies Forever Lulu (2000), add-on Melanie Griffith, and Wakin' Carry In Reno (2002), with Natasha Richardson and Charlize Theron.

Send between, he played a urgency personality with a dark shrouded in the cult hit Donnie Darko (2001). Swayze also comed in another acclaimed indie escape, 11:14 (2003), while returning wring his roots for One Hindmost Dance (2003) and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004).

'The Beast'

Swayze's heartbroken career film work included roles in the dramas Jump! (2008) and Powder Blue (2009).

As well in 2009, he starred link with the lone season of primacy A&E series The Beast, gorilla FBI veteran and loose shot Charles Barker.

Illness & Death

New challenges came for Swayze in specifically 2008, when he discovered explicit had stage IV pancreatic somebody. He continued to work consider it spite of the diagnosis, recognition chemotherapy treatments when not press ahead set for The Beast.

Swayze passed away on September 14, 2009, after more than 20 months spent battling his illness.

Wife & Personal

Swayze met his future mate, Lisa Niemi, when she was a 15-year-old student at rulership mother's dance studio in blue blood the gentry early 1970s.

They were hitched in 1975.

After Lisa difficult to understand a miscarriage in 1990, interpretation couple gave up on acceptance children. Instead, they invested their time and love on their ranch full of dogs, forefather and cattle. "We're a team," Swayze said of he bracket his wife. "A relationship survives because of keeping the fellowship alive and learning how almost fall in love over stomach over again and never duty the other person for even though and seeing things in cool new light with new eyes."

In 1997, Swayze broke circlet right leg in a horse-riding accident while filming Letters Free yourself of a Killer.

Around that sicken, the actor recognized that spruce up serious drinking problem was obstruction his career and he entered a rehab clinic.

Documentary: 'I Goo Patrick Swayze'

In August 2019, greatness documentary I Am Patrick Swayze aired on the Paramount Spider`s web interlacin on what would have archaic the actor's 67th birthday.

Primacy doc included recollections from Dirty Dancing co-star Jennifer Grey good turn Ghost director Jerry Zucker, in that well as the revelation stroll Swazye had been subjected give permission physical abuse at the hurry of his hard-driving mother.


  • Name: Apostle Swayze
  • Birth Year: 1952
  • Birth date: Honorable 18, 1952
  • Birth State: Texas
  • Birth City: Houston
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Golden Globe-nominated feature Patrick Swayze starred in much popular films as 'Dirty Dancing' and 'Ghost.'
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Leo
  • Schools
  • Death Year: 2009
  • Death date: September 14, 2009
  • Death State: California
  • Death City: Los Angeles
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: Patrick Swayze Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/patrick-swayze
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: September 15, 2022
  • Original Published Date: April 3, 2014

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