Patrick Swayze Bio
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Patrick Swayze BioThis Patrick Swayze biography contains information believed to be accurate as extracted from sources around the internet including Wikipedia. If you believe there are errors or omissions in this Patrick Swayze bio, please let us know so that we can correct any inaccuracies.
Patrick Swayze (born August 18, 1952) is an American dancer, actor, and songwriter. His best-known movie roles have been the romantic leads in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, Road House and the 1990 film Ghost. Patrick Swayze: Early lifeSwayze was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Patsy Yvonne Helen (née Karnes), a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer, and Jessie Wayne Swayze, an engineering drafter. According to his website, he is part Apache. His brother, Don Swayze, is also an actor. Until age 20, Swayze lived in the Oak Forest area, where he attended St Rose of Lima Catholic School, Oak Forest Elementary School, Black Middle School, and Waltrip High School. During this time, he also pursued multiple artistic and athletic skills such as ice skating, classical ballet, and acting in school plays. He studied gymnastics at nearby San Jacinto College for two years, before leaving to tour with Disney on Ice in the lead role of Prince Charming. In 1972, he moved to New York City to complete his formal dance training at the Harkness Ballet and Joffrey Ballet Schools. Patrick Swayze: CareerSwayze's first professional appearance was as a dancer for Disney on Parade. He starred as "Danny Zuko" in the Broadway production of Grease before his debut film role as Ace in Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979). He also appeared in the M*A*S*H episode "Blood Brothers" (Episode 9.18, 6 April 1981). Many of Swayze's first roles were in films such as The Outsiders (1983), Red Dawn (1984) and Youngblood (1986), but his first major success was in the 1985 television mini-series North and South, which was set during the American Civil War. His real breakthrough to stardom came with his performance as the dance instructor in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, where his earlier ballet experience came to good use. He starred with Jennifer Grey, who had also co-starred in Red Dawn. Dirty Dancing was originally a low-budget project that was intended to show in theaters for one weekend only and then go straight to video, but it became a surprise hit, and achieved massive international success. It was the first film to sell one million copies on video, and as of 2007 has earned over $US 300 million worldwide and spawned several alternate versions ranging from a television series to stage productions to a computer game. Swayze received a Golden Globe Award nomination for the role, and also sang one of the songs on the soundtrack, "She's Like the Wind", which he had originally co-written with Stacy Widelitz for the film Grandview, U.S.A.. The song became a top-10 hit; it has been covered by other artists such as David Hasselhoff, and in 2006 was converted into a hip-hop version by Lumidee, who brought it to the top of the charts in Germany. After Dirty Dancing, Swayze found himself heavily typecast as beefcake and appeared in several flops, of which Road House (1989) was the most successful. His biggest hit came in 1990 when he starred in Ghost with Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. This role had considerable cultural impact, and modern hip-hop lyrics routinely use the phrase "Like a Swayze" in reference to that film (for more info, see the "Cultural Impact" section of the movie "Ghost"). In 1991, he starred alongside "Youngblood" castmate Keanu Reeves in another major action hit, Point Break, and was also chosen by People magazine as that year's "Sexiest Man Alive". Swayze was seriously injured in 1996 while filming the HBO Letters from a Killer in the Ione area, when he fell from a horse and hit a tree. Both of his legs were broken, and he suffered four detached tendons in his shoulder. Filming was suspended for two months, but the film finally aired in 1999. Swayze recovered from his injuries, but had trouble resuming his career until 2000, when he co-starred in Waking Up in Reno with Billy Bob Thornton and Charlize Theron, and in Forever Lulu with Melanie Griffith. In 2001 he appeared in Donnie Darko, and in 2004 played Allan Quatermain in King Solomon's Mines. He also had a cameo appearance in the Dirty Dancing sequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004), as an unnamed dance instructor. He made his London stage debut in the musical Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit on July 27, 2006 alongside Neil Jerzak, and remained in the role until November 25, 2006. His previous appearances on the Broadway stage had included productions of Goodtime Charley (1975), and Chicago (2003). Swayze's latest starring role was in the film Christmas in Wonderland (2007). In August of 2007 Swayze played an aging rock star in the upcoming film "Powder Blue" (slated for 2008 release), co-starring with his younger brother Don Swayze in their first film together. Swayze is currently working on an A&E pilot/FBI drama The Beast, being filmed in Chicago; he will play FBI Agent Charles Barker. Patrick Swayze: Personal lifeSwayze has been married to Lisa Niemi since 1975. The couple first met in 1970 when Lisa, at age 14, was taking dance lessons from Swayze's mother. As a reaction to his father's death by heart attack in 1982, Swayze began to drink heavily. His sister Vicky passed away in 1994, leading him to seek treatment for alcoholism. After initial recovery, he temporarily withdrew from show business, retreating to his ranches in California and New Mexico to breed Arabian horses. His best-known horse was the late Tammen, a chestnut Arabian stallion. Swayze made the news again on June 1, 2000, when flying with his dogs in his twin-engine Cessna from Van Nuys, California to Las Vegas, New Mexico. His plane developed a pressurization problem over northern Arizona, causing Swayze to make a precautionary landing on a dirt road in a housing complex in Prescott Valley. The plane's right wing struck a light pole that he hadn't seen from the air, but Swayze was unharmed. He locked up the cockpit, left it parked in the subdivision, and obtained a ride (with his dogs) from a passing vehicle, allegedly in order to telephone the authorities. According to the police report, witnesses said that Swayze appeared to be extremely intoxicated and asked for help to remove evidence (including an open bottle of wine and a 30-pack of beer) from the crash site. He also made himself unavailable to police for several hours. It was later determined that the alcohol in question was not in the cabin but stored in external storage compartments inaccessible in flight and that the alleged "intoxication" was due to the effects of hypoxia during descent. He has followed several spiritual traditions. Brought up a Roman Catholic, he has also studied Bahá'í, Buddhism, and Scientology. Both Swayze and actor William Holden (real name William Franklin Beedle) are direct descendants of Samuel and Penelope Horton Swazey (old spelling of Swayze name) making them distant cousins. Patrick Swayze - CancerSwayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late January 2008 and has been undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments at the Stanford University Medical Center. A March 5, 2008 Reuters article reports that Swayze "has a very limited amount of disease, and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far." Swayze's doctor has confirmed the actor has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but insists he's not as close to death as reports suggest. Swayze has admitted to have smoked up to three packs of cigarettes per day, which can be a leading cause of pancreatic cancer. Swayze was reported to still be smoking, even after receiving chemotherapy. |
