Remembering Patrick Swayze
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
A legendary actor of the latter part of the 20th century, Patrick Swayze tragically passed away after a battle with cancer on September 14, 2009. Few in Hollywood have shown themselves to be as multi-talented as Patrick Swayze. He is a cultural icon that helped define a generation, and in this video, http://www.WatchMojo.com looks at the life and career of this Hollywood heartthrob.
Patrick Swayze Profile
He went from Broadway Dancer to Hollywood heartthrob, starring in two of the most beloved love stories ever put on film. Today WatchhMojo.com will be remembering the life and career of the late Patrick Swayze.
Born on August 18th 1952 in Houston, Texas to an engineer and a dance choreographer, Swayze eventually became a student of his mother’s dance school. Though involved in several sports, dancing was of special interest to him. He later obtained a scholarship in gymnastics and played the role of Prince Charming in “Disney on Parade”. He eventually took positions at several ballet companies, and also prompted a move to New York City to complete his formal dance training. There he was given the lead role in the stage version of “Grease”, before landing several small television appearances, such as Private Sturgis on the M*A*S*H episode “Blood Brothers.”
After several small roles on television, Patrick Swayze launched his film career in 1979, along side many popular 70s television actors in the rock and roll disco movie, “Skatetown, U.S.A.”
Swayze then landed major roles in two back-to-back movies focused on groups of young men. The first role was as Darrel Curtis, the group’s father figure and brother of the main protagonist Ponyboy, in the 1983 film adaptation of “The Outsiders”. The film solidified Swayze’s career by making him synonymous with the famous teens of the time, and he became a member of the era’s brat pack. This success was quickly followed with “Red Dawn”, in which he again took a leadership role. This time he led of a group of teenagers that used guerilla warfare to fight off a Russian invasion in an alternate timeline’s World War 3.
In 1987, after several years of work between movies and television, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as dance instructor "Johnny Castle" in the cult romantic classic, “Dirty Dancing”. The film was an unexpected juggernaut at the box office, despite being under-funded and was expected to fail by its production house, which had planned to release the film straight to video following only one weekend in theatres. The success of the film catapulted Swayze into super-stardom, he even received recognition for the song he co-wrote and sang for the film’s soundtrack, “She’s Like the Wind” which landed on the radio’s top 10 list.
His breakout fame was then followed by a string of flops which shamelessly tried to capitalize on the success of Dirty Dancing. The most well-received of these was 1989’s “Road House”, in which he starred as a bouncer brought in to resolve a club’s problems. The film attracted many viewers for it’s over the top violence and was advertised with the tag line “The Dancing is over, Now it gets dirty.”
Despite being heavily typecast to his previous success, he finally broke free by playing the role of the spirit "Sam Wheat" in the unprecedented 1990 box office hit “Ghost”. Alongside Dirty Dancing, this film made it onto the list of the top 100 Love Stories ever told in cinema. The movie had a large cultural impact, and its infamous pottery scene has been parodied several times.
Patrick Swayze maintained his reputation as a star throughout the nineties, even starring opposite Keanu Reeves as the villain in the 1991 action movie “Point Break”, and was chosen that year by People Magazine as the year's Sexiest Man Alive.
Aside from his romance and action films, many fondly remember Swayze’s comedy outings. Swayze appeared several times as a guest on Saturday Night Live, most famously in the “Chippendales: Dance Off” skit opposite Chris Farley. In 1995, Swayze starred in the comedy about a group of men entering a drag queen contest in “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.”
Despite the glamour and the laughs, Swayze had been facing several crises throughout the better part of his career. In 1982, his father died of a heart attack at the young age of 57. This led Swayze to drink heavily and eventually seek treatment after his sister Vicky died from an overdose in 1994. Another major turning point for Swayze came in 1996, when he was seriously injured in a horse riding accident while filming HBO’s “Letters from a Killer”. The fall resulted in both his legs being broken and four detached tendons in his shoulders. Swayze eventually recovered, but was unable to resume his film career for several years.
Upon returning Swayze mostly took on supporting roles, such as a speaker and closet pedophile in Donnie Darko and an unnamed dance instructor in the Dirty Dancing sequel “Havana Nights”. His final acting role was in the Television series “The Beast” in which Swayze played an FBI agent who applied controversial methods to bring criminals to justice.
Few in Hollywood have shown themselves to be as multi-talented as Patrick Swayze. He is a cultural icon that helped define a generation, and will be missed.
He went from Broadway Dancer to Hollywood heartthrob, starring in two of the most beloved love stories ever put on film. Today WatchhMojo.com will be remembering the life and career of the late Patrick Swayze.
Born on August 18th 1952 in Houston, Texas to an engineer and a dance choreographer, Swayze eventually became a student of his mother’s dance school. Though involved in several sports, dancing was of special interest to him. He later obtained a scholarship in gymnastics and played the role of Prince Charming in “Disney on Parade”. He eventually took positions at several ballet companies, and also prompted a move to New York City to complete his formal dance training. There he was given the lead role in the stage version of “Grease”, before landing several small television appearances, such as Private Sturgis on the M*A*S*H episode “Blood Brothers.”
After several small roles on television, Patrick Swayze launched his film career in 1979, along side many popular 70s television actors in the rock and roll disco movie, “Skatetown, U.S.A.”
Swayze then landed major roles in two back-to-back movies focused on groups of young men. The first role was as Darrel Curtis, the group’s father figure and brother of the main protagonist Ponyboy, in the 1983 film adaptation of “The Outsiders”. The film solidified Swayze’s career by making him synonymous with the famous teens of the time, and he became a member of the era’s brat pack. This success was quickly followed with “Red Dawn”, in which he again took a leadership role. This time he led of a group of teenagers that used guerilla warfare to fight off a Russian invasion in an alternate timeline’s World War 3.
In 1987, after several years of work between movies and television, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as dance instructor "Johnny Castle" in the cult romantic classic, “Dirty Dancing”. The film was an unexpected juggernaut at the box office, despite being under-funded and was expected to fail by its production house, which had planned to release the film straight to video following only one weekend in theatres. The success of the film catapulted Swayze into super-stardom, he even received recognition for the song he co-wrote and sang for the film’s soundtrack, “She’s Like the Wind” which landed on the radio’s top 10 list.
His breakout fame was then followed by a string of flops which shamelessly tried to capitalize on the success of Dirty Dancing. The most well-received of these was 1989’s “Road House”, in which he starred as a bouncer brought in to resolve a club’s problems. The film attracted many viewers for it’s over the top violence and was advertised with the tag line “The Dancing is over, Now it gets dirty.”
Despite being heavily typecast to his previous success, he finally broke free by playing the role of the spirit "Sam Wheat" in the unprecedented 1990 box office hit “Ghost”. Alongside Dirty Dancing, this film made it onto the list of the top 100 Love Stories ever told in cinema. The movie had a large cultural impact, and its infamous pottery scene has been parodied several times.
Patrick Swayze maintained his reputation as a star throughout the nineties, even starring opposite Keanu Reeves as the villain in the 1991 action movie “Point Break”, and was chosen that year by People Magazine as the year's Sexiest Man Alive.
Aside from his romance and action films, many fondly remember Swayze’s comedy outings. Swayze appeared several times as a guest on Saturday Night Live, most famously in the “Chippendales: Dance Off” skit opposite Chris Farley. In 1995, Swayze starred in the comedy about a group of men entering a drag queen contest in “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.”
Despite the glamour and the laughs, Swayze had been facing several crises throughout the better part of his career. In 1982, his father died of a heart attack at the young age of 57. This led Swayze to drink heavily and eventually seek treatment after his sister Vicky died from an overdose in 1994. Another major turning point for Swayze came in 1996, when he was seriously injured in a horse riding accident while filming HBO’s “Letters from a Killer”. The fall resulted in both his legs being broken and four detached tendons in his shoulders. Swayze eventually recovered, but was unable to resume his film career for several years.
Upon returning Swayze mostly took on supporting roles, such as a speaker and closet pedophile in Donnie Darko and an unnamed dance instructor in the Dirty Dancing sequel “Havana Nights”. His final acting role was in the Television series “The Beast” in which Swayze played an FBI agent who applied controversial methods to bring criminals to justice.
Few in Hollywood have shown themselves to be as multi-talented as Patrick Swayze. He is a cultural icon that helped define a generation, and will be missed.
