Patrick Wayne Swayze ( SWAY-zee; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, singer-songwriter and dancer. Known for his romantic, tough, and comedic roles in blockbusters and cult films, Swayze was nominated for three Golden Globes and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997.
Swayze received recognition for acting in the drama film The Outsiders (1983), the action film Red Dawn (1984), and the miniseries North and South (1985–1986). His breakthrough came with the romantic drama film Dirty Dancing (1987), receiving a Golden Globe nomination. He rose to further prominence in the action films Road House (1989) and Point Break (1991), and received two more Golden Globe nominations for his roles in the supernatural romance film Ghost (1990) and the road comedy film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995). He also had a major role in the cult thriller Donnie Darko (2001).
Outside of acting, Swayze co-wrote and recorded the song "She's Like the Wind" with Stacy Widelitz for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack album, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. He was also recognized for his public image and looks, and was named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine in 1991. In 2009, Swayze died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 57.
Patrick Wayne Swayze was born on August 18, 1952, in Houston, Texas, the second child of Jesse Wayne Swayze (1925–1982), an engineering draftsman, and Patsy Swayze (1927–2013), a dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor. He had an older sister, Vickie (1949–1994), two younger brothers, actor Don and Sean (1962–2025), and a younger sister, Bambi, who was adopted.
Swayze's paternal lineal ancestor was Englishman John Swasey (1619–1706) from Bridport, Dorset. During the Puritan migration to New England between 1620 and 1640, Swasey traveled aboard the Recovery and arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He married Katherine Kinge of Essex and had seven children. Their grandson Samuel, a judge, was among the first to use the Swayze spelling. Patrick's uncle, Bruce Swayze, was a professional wrestler.
Swayze grew up in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston and attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic School and Frank Black Middle School, later graduating from Waltrip High School and San Jacinto College Central. During this period, he pursued ice skating, classical ballet, and acting in school productions. He also played football in high school, hoping to earn a college scholarship, but a knee injury ended his prospects. He had a low Vietnam draft lottery number of 141, which was called in 1970, and he should have been drafted, but the severity of his injury may have prevented that. He also practiced martial arts, including Wushu, Taekwondo, and Aikido, which he used to channel his "self-deprecating rage."
In 1972, at age 20, he moved to New York City to complete his formal dance training at the Harkness Ballet and Joffrey Ballet schools. The American choreographer Eliot Feld planned a ballet for Swayze and Mikhail Baryshnikov, but the project was halted due to Swayze's knee reconstruction.
1980s: Early work and breakthrough
Patrick Swayze's first professional appearance was as a dancer for the Disney Theatrical Group in a show called Disney on Parade. He then starred in the role of Danny Zuko in one of the replacement casts for the long-running Broadway production of Grease. In 1979, he made his film debut as Ace in Skatetown, U.S.A. At the height of the popularity of disco, he starred in a Pabst Blue Ribbon commercial of him going on a date at a disco-themed nightclub with Pabst's then-jingle set to disco music. He appeared in the M*A*S*H episode "Blood Brothers" in 1981 as Private Sturgis, whose wounds are minor, but who is found to be terminally ill with leukemia. He appeared in the video for Rosanna by Toto as one of the gang members. That same year, he appeared in the TV movie Return of the Rebels with Barbara Eden, and then in 1983, had a brief stint on the short-lived TV series The Renegades, playing a gang leader named Bandit.
Swayze became better known to the film industry after he won the role of Darrel "Darry" Curtis in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 cinematic adaptation of S. E. Hinton's novel, The Outsiders, and shared the screen with an ensemble cast that included Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Leif Garrett, C. Thomas Howell, Diane Lane, Rob Lowe, and Ralph Macchio. In the same year, Swayze played a Marine Corps trainer in Vietnam rescue film Uncommon Valor with Gene Hackman. The following year, Swayze, Howell, and Howell's friend and fellow The Outsiders actor, Darren Dalton, reunited in Red Dawn, along with Jennifer Grey. In 1986, Lowe and Swayze reunited in Youngblood. Swayze's first major dramatic success was in the 1985 television miniseries North and South, set during the American Civil War.
Swayze starred in 1987's Dirty Dancing, a low-budget movie, planned for only a one-week release, after which it was to go to video. Swayze played resort dance instructor Johnny Castle alongside Jennifer Grey. The story enabled Swayze to dance and romance Grey and showcase his professional dance training. In addition to acting and dancing, Swayze co-composed and sang one of the songs on the soundtrack for Dirty Dancing, "She's Like the Wind." The song became a top 10 hit that has since been covered by other artists. Swayze had originally co-written the song with Stacy Widelitz for the film Grandview, U.S.A. in 1984. Dirty Dancing's coming-of-age story first became a surprise hit, and then achieved enormous international success. It was the first film to sell one million copies on video and, as of 2009, it had earned over $214 million worldwide. The film also generated several alternative, or derivative, versions, ranging from a television series to stage productions to a computer game. Swayze received a Golden Globe Award nomination for the role. After Dirty Dancing, Swayze found himself in great demand and appeared in several films, including Road House in 1989 with Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara, and Kelly Lynch.
1990s: Rise to mainstream prominence
In the supernatural romantic thriller Ghost (1990), Swayze starred as Sam Wheat opposite Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, and Tony Goldwyn. Ghost was the highest-grossing film of 1990 and the most rented videocassette of 1991. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Swayze earned another Golden Globe nomination for his acting. It was also Swayze who convinced the producers to hire Goldberg, who thanked Swayze in her acceptance speech when she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The scene where he and Moore use a pottery wheel has become an iconic moment. In the following year, he starred alongside Youngblood castmate Keanu Reeves in another major action hit, Point Break, in which he performed many of his own skydiving stunts. People magazine named him the "Sexiest Man Alive."
For his contributions to the film industry, Swayze was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997. Swayze was injured in May 1997 while filming HBO's Letters from a Killer near Ione, California, 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. The film aired in 1998, and Swayze slowly recovered from his injuries, but he had trouble resuming his career until 2000, when he co-starred in Forever Lulu, with Melanie Griffith.
In 1995, Swayze appeared in the movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, starring alongside Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo as three drag queens whose car breaks down on a cross-country trip, leaving them stranded in a small town.
2000s: Career expansion and later work
In 2001, he appeared in Donnie Darko, where he played a motivational speaker who is revealed to be a closeted pedophile. The film later obtained a cult following. After this, he co-starred with Billy Bob Thornton and Charlize Theron in Waking Up in Reno, which focuses on two redneck couples taking a road trip from Little Rock to Reno to see a monster truck rally. In 2004, he played Allan Quatermain in King Solomon's Mines and had a cameo appearance in the Dirty Dancing prequel Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights as an unnamed dance instructor.