Patrick Swayze dead at 57
Patrick Swayze, the movie star whose most famous films were Dirty Dancing and Ghost, died today in Los Angeles, CA of pancreatic cancer, according to his publicist, Annett Wolf. Swayze was listed by People magazine as its “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1991. Swayze passed away peacefully today with his family by his side. He was 57.
Patrick Swayze was born on August 18, 1952 in Houston, TX. His father was an engineering draftsman, and his mother was a ballet teacher who later became the director of the Houston Ballet Dance Company. As a boy in Houston, Swayze not only earned a college scholarship at dance, but also played football, practiced martial arts, and was an accomplished diver and a track star. An old football injury put an end to his dance career, and Patrick Swayze turned to acting.
Swayze’s acting credits include a 1981 episode of M*A*S*H*, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film, The Outsiders, the 1984 film, Red Dawn, Dirty Dancing, Road House in 1989, Ghost, Point Break in 1991, City of Joy in 1992, and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar in 1995.
Swayze broke both legs in 1997 while making a film, Letters From a Killer, and went into rehab for a drinking problem in 2000. In 2001, Swayze played a creepy motivational speaker in the sleeper film, Donnie Darko.
“Good-looking people turn me off,” Swayze once said. “Myself included.”
He is survived by his wife of over 30 years, Lisa, and his mother, Patsy.
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