Sixty-one years ago today, Patrick Swayze entered the world. Four years ago this September, he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer and left his wife of 34 years lonely for the first time. That man was my idol, my first real love man crush, and someone I will always aspire to emulate, in my personal & love life as well as professionally. He chased his dreams and stayed by his woman's side for over three decades, about three decades longer than most Hollywood marriages last. In the spring of 2009, just months before his death, I wrote a research paper about that marvelously talented man, and I have studiously copied it here below for your reading pleasure. Rest in peace, sweet man.
He stepped into millions
of lives as a handsome bouncer in a rinky-dink town who sure knew how to throw
a punch. He was the passionate lover, killed by a colleague, who saved his
girlfriend from the same fate. He was the irresistible dance instructor who
entranced an innocent daddy’s girl at the Catskills and taught us that “Nobody
puts Baby in a corner.” From a bad-boy greaser to a teenage freedom fighter,
Patrick Swayze has been soaring, dancing, and fighting his way into our hearts
for years, never ceasing to make women everywhere “Crazy for Swayze.”
Patrick Wayne
Swayze was born on August 18, 1952, in Houston,
Texas. He had four siblings, two
brothers and two sisters, and his parents, Patsy and Jesse. His mother was
director of the Houston Jazz Ballet Company, while his father was a dancer and
choreographer. Because of his parents’ involvement in dance, Patrick was
introduced to it at an early age, and developed a love for ballet. In school,
however, he took heat for it, and was teased by the kids in his class.
After middle
school, Patrick enrolled in Waltrip High School, where he continued to take
part in artistic activities, such as ice skating, classical ballet, and acting
in school plays (Patrick Swayze Bio Profile). However, he also put more of a focus
on his athletics, participating in sports such as football, swimming, and
gymnastics. When graduation rolled around, Patrick was offered both dance and
athletic scholarships, but pursued athletics; He enrolled at San Jacinto
College in Houston, focusing on gymnastics.
After two years in
college, Patrick left school to tour with the Disney on Parade ice show, playing Snow White’s Prince Charming.
Following the Disney tour, Patrick returned to his home in Texas. While there, Patrick fell in love
with one of his mother’s ballet students, sixteen-year-old Lisa Neimi. In 1972,
after spending two years at home, Patrick traveled to New York City to pursue a career in dance.
After graduating high school, Lisa joined him in New York; there, they both trained with the
Harkness & Joffrey Ballet Companies. On June 2, 1975, Patrick and Lisa
sealed their love through marriage, a love that would last for over thirty
years.
Shortly after
getting married, Patrick was hired as a principal dancer with the Eliot Field
Ballet Company. However, an old football injury caused Patrick to undergo surgery
on his knee. Unfortunately, his surgery kept him away from dance for a while,
and eventually caused him to permanently leave the ballet company. In 1976,
Patrick changed courses with his Broadway debut in “Goodtime Charley”. Later, he also appeared in West Side Story, but
his biggest role was yet to come. In 1978, Patrick won his first main role,
playing Danny Zuko in “Grease”. His
success from the musical led to many offers for roles in television and movies.
In 1979, Patrick
began his new career, one which would lead to much future success. That year
Patrick made his movie debut in Skatetown, U.S.A.
Following his first movie, Patrick landed his first television debut as well,
portraying a dying leukemia patient on the show M*A*S*H. Later, in 1983, Swayze
was cast as Darryl Curtis in Francis Ford Coppola’s movie the Outsiders, where he played alongside several future stars, such
as Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, and Diane Lane.
Throughout the
mid-80s, Patrick continued making films, such as Red Dawn and Grandview, U.S.A. Patrick also scored a recurring role on the
miniseries “North and South” in 1985 and its sequel in 1986. While the mid-80s
didn’t hold many huge hits for Patrick, 1987 brought him the fame he deserved.
His breakthrough role as Johnny Castle in Dirty
Dancing established him as an actor and won him titles such as “Hollywood’s Newest
Heartthrob.” He also received his first Golden Globe nomination, and even recorded
a song for the soundtrack, entitled “She’s Like the Wind.”
Despite his
unforgettable role in Dirty Dancing,
several flops followed Patrick’s overnight stardom. In 1989, Patrick starred in
Roadhouse and Next of Kin, two action-packed films that were most successful.
Next, however, came Patrick’s biggest hit and most memorable claim to fame. In
1990, he won the lead role of Sam Wheat in Jerry Zucker’s film Ghost, where he starred alongside Whoopi
Goldberg and Demi Moore. The movie grossed over $200,000,000 in the box office
and earned Swayze his second Golden Globe nomination. The following year in
1991, Patrick appeared on the cover of People Magazine as “Sexiest Man Alive,”
solidifying his fame in the hearts of women everywhere.
Sadly, after so
much success, things seemed to take a turn for the worst in Patrick’s family
life and career. In 1994, Patrick’s sister Vicky died of a drug overdose,
having suffered depression throughout her life. “Her death changed my life,”
Swayze said in an interview. “It was hard not to feel responsible, that I
could’ve done something to prevent it” (Middlehurst). In 1997, Patrick returned to work. However,
while filming Letters From a Killer,
Patrick broke his right leg during a horse-riding accident. Severe drinking problems
and a line of unsuccessful movies in the late ‘90s soon followed and greatly
hindered his career. Following his drinking escapades, Swayze checked himself
into rehab to fix his alcoholic ways. After leaving rehab, he and Lisa
retreated to their ranch in the foothills of the San
Gabriel Mountain range in California.
After letting his
career spiral downward for so long, Patrick decided to take control again. With
movies like Forever Lulu(2000) and Waking Up in Reno(2002), he made a
comeback in the film industry. In 2001, Patrick also starred in the film Donnie Darko, an independent film that
didn’t take well in theatres. However, in DVD sales the film made more than
$10,000,000 and was publicized by critics as “the best independent film of
2001”. He also amazed audiences with his omnipresent dancing skills in One Last Dance (2003) and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004), a
sequel to his 1987 original.
Now fifty-six,
Patrick has been acting for more than thirty years, and continues to appear in
film and television today. Recently, Patrick has starred in movies such as
the2007 thriller Jump! and Powder Blue, set for release this year.
He has also started filming for his new TV show, called “The Beast”. In the series, Swayze portrays an FBI veteran named
Charles Barker who trains his new partner in a hard-edged approach to
undercover work. The show aired January 15, 2009 on A&E (Olsson).
While Patrick’s
career seemed to be taking off, December of 2007 brought new problems¾life-threatening
ones. While attending a New Year’s Eve Party, Patrick drank some wine, but
after only a sip, he knew something was wrong. Only that little bit of wine
made it hard for him to breathe and made his throat sting and burn. He went to
see a doctor several weeks later, and in March of 2008 was diagnosed with pancreatic
cancer, a very serious cancer. To make matters worse, he was told that the
cancer was at Stage IV, the most advanced level, meaning that the cancer had
already spread to other parts of the body. Doctors who treated him gave him
months to live.
Despite warnings
from doctors and friends, Patrick has continued filming for “The Beast”. In early 2009, Patrick was
admitted to the hospital when he contracted pneumonia. As if pancreatic cancer
wasn’t enough, adding pneumonia to it could’ve been incredibly fatal, killing
him in a matter of days. One year after diagnosis, however, Swayze is alive,
optimistic, and ready for anything. While he’s not as physically healthy as he
once was, he’s not giving up without a fight. Swayze refuses to give up doing
what he loves and stop enjoying life because of cancer. When asked by Barbara
Walters how he responds to people claiming he’s on the verge of death, he had
one reply. “Watch me!” he said, “You watch what I pull off.”
No comments:
Post a Comment