Famous Dancers of Past and Present. Patrick Swayze (1952-2009)

 Patrick Swayze (1952-2009)

Patrick Swayze was a well-known American dancer and actor. He starred as a dance instructor in the popular movie Dirty Dancing.

Early Life:

Patrick Swayze was born in 1952 in Houston. His father was a chemical plant engineer and his mother was a dancer and choreographer. In high school, Patrick was a talented football player as well as a gymnast, earning him an athletic scholarship to college. Patrick focused his talents on dancing at a young age. He attended several ballet schools, including the Joffrey Ballet. He was the principal dancer with the Eliot Feld company. He moved to new york to start his career, but an old football injury halted his plans. He then turned to acting.

Career:

Patrick got his first acting break in the Broadway production of Grease. He then moved to Hollywood and played several supporting roles in television sitcoms and made-for-television movies. Patrick gained fame in 1987 with his starring role with Jennifer Grey in the sleeper hit Dirty Dancing.Although the dancing role established Patrick as a Hollywood heartthrob, the dancing proved too much for his body and ended his dancing career. He continued to accept movie roles, some bad and some good. He struck gold again in 1990 when he starred opposite Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg in the hit movie Ghost.

Life Today:

Associated with the Catholic church, Patrick was known to have deep spiritual beliefs. He was also known to have been associated with Baptism, Buddhism, and Scientology. He battled alcoholism for a time, but was able to beat it. He married Lisa Niemi in 1975. The couple had no children.

Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in early 2008. He lost his battle with the disease on September 14, 2009, at the age of 57.