Patrick Swayze Life In Pictures
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patrick swayze
Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze died at home aged 57 on 14 September 2009. The star who danced into our lives with Dirty Dancing and melted our hearts in Ghost had been battling pancreatic cancer since being diagnosed four years ago. \"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months,\" Swayze\'s spokeswoman Annett Wolf said in a statement to the Associated Press. The actor had been planning to write his memoirs with his wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi.
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Pancreatic cancer is known as the ‘silent killer’ due to its tendency to remain undetected until it is too late for treatment. It is one of the most virulent forms of cancer, which medical experts say has a five per cent survival rate.
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We take a look back at the actor’s life in pictures.
A star is born
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patrick swayze
Patrick Swayze was born on 18 August 1952 in Houston, Texas. His mother, Patsy Swayze, was a choreographer, which may explain Patrick’s passion for dance.
Go Grease lightning
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go grease lightning
Swayze’s first professional appearance was as a dancer for Disney on Parade. He starred as Danny Zuko in the long-running Broadway production of Grease, before his debut movie role as Ace in Skatetown, USA.
Endless love
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Patrick on his weding day
Patrick married Lisa Niemi on June 12 1975. The couple first met in 1970 when the actor was 18 years old. Niemi, 14 years old at the time, was taking dance lessons from Swayze’s mother. The couple did not have children.
Troubled times
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patrick and his father
Following his father’s death from a heart attack in 1982, Patrick began drinking heavily. His sister committed suicide by overdose in 1994, leading Swayze to seek treatment for alcoholism. After initial recovery the actor withdrew from showbiz for a time, retreating to his ranches in California and Las Vegas to breed Arabian horses.
The Brat Pack
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the brat pack
Swayze became known to the film industry after appearing in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders (1983) as the older brother of C Thomas Howell and Rob Lowe. Howell and Swayze reunited in Red Dawn (1984) the next year and Lowe and Swayze reunited in Youngblood (1986), after which Patrick became considered as a member of the Brat Pack.
Dirty Dancing
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dirty dancing
In 1987 everything changed for Patrick when he took on the role of dance instructor Johnny Castle in the cult film Dirty Dancing. The low-budget movie, which also starred Jennifer Grey, was meant to show in cinemas for one weekend and then go straight to video, but it became a surprise hit and achieved international success.
Ghost
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ghost
In 1990 Swayze’s biggest hit came in the form of Ghost, in which he starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Demi Moore, playing Sam Wheat. Demi Moore wrote on her Twitter in memory of Patrick on Monday night, with a quote from the movie, “And in the words of Sam to Molly. \'It\'s amazing Molly. The love inside, you take it with you.\' I love and will miss you Patrick.\"
Sexiest Man Alive
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sexiest man alive
In 1991 Patrick starred with Keanu Reeves in the major action hit Point Break, and was also chosen by People Magazine as that year’s Sexiest Man Alive.
Break a leg
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patrick swayze
While filming HBO’s Letters From A Killer (1998) in California, Patrick fell from a horse and hit a tree. Both of his legs were broken and he suffered four detached tendons in his shoulders.
Waking Up In Reno
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waking up in reno
In 2000 Swayze co-starred in Waking Up In Reno, With Billy Bob Thornton and Charlize Theron and Forever Lulu, with Melanie Griffith.
A close call
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plane crash
On 1 June 2000 Patrick Swayze was involved in a plane crash. While flying from Van Nuys, California to Las Vegas, New Mexico with his two dogs, his twin-engine Cessna developed a pressurisation problem Swayze to make a precautionary landing on a dirt road. He left it parked and locked on the side of the road and caught a lift from a passing vehicle to phone the authorities.
Donnie Darko
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donnie darko
In 2001 Patrick appeared in Donnie Darko, next to a relatively fresh-faced Jake Gyllenhaal, playing a motivational speaker and closet paedophile. In 2004 he played Allan Quatermain in King Solomon’s Mines, and also had a cameo appearance in the Dirty Dancing sequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.
Diagnosis
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patrick Swayze diagnosed with cancer
Patrick was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in January 2008. He told Barbara Walters a year later that he was “kicking it” and took up a role in the television show Beast, which was eventually cancelled.
Patrick Swayze dies, age 57
celebrity,patrick swayze,celebrity lives
patrick swayze dies
Swayze’s publicist Annett Wolf confirmed to CNN that he had died of pancreatic cancer. Swayze passed away “with his family at his side” on 14 September 2009, age 57, 20 months after being diagnosed. Patrick is survived by his wife of over 30 years, Lisa and his mother Patsy.
