LOS ANGELES - Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into viewers’ hearts with “Dirty Dancing’’ and then broke them with “Ghost,’’ died yesterday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.
Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Mr. Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer. He kept working despite the diagnosis, putting together a memoir with his wife and shooting “The Beast,’’ an A&E drama series.
Mr. Swayze was open about his prognosis. “I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking,’’ he told ABC’s Barbara Walters in early 2009. “Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics. I want to last until they find a cure, which means I’d better get a fire under it.’’
A former ballet and Broadway dancer, Mr. Swayze rarely earned more than tepid reviews for his onscreen emotional range. But he found enduring mass approval for a handful of movie roles that took advantage of his muscular build, tousled blond hair, and charismatic swagger.
Rita Kempley, a former
His best-remembered movies - “Dirty Dancing’’ (1987) with Jennifer Grey and “Ghost’’ (1990) with Demi Moore - were unexpected hits that relied on terrific soundtracks and appealing performances.
“Dirty Dancing’’ featured Mr. Swayze as a dangerously seductive Catskills dance teacher named Johnny Castle who teams with a guest’s shy daughter for a dance performance at a neighboring hotel. They also fall in love.
Mr. Swayze co-wrote and sang a hit song from the film, “She’s Like the Wind,’’ which reached No. 3 on the pop charts.
Film critic Vincent Canby, writing in The New York Times, said Mr. Swayze was “at his best - as is the movie - when he’s dancing.’’
“Dirty Dancing’’ earned a fortune at the box office, a fact largely attributed to female ticket-buyers wowed by Mr. Swayze. Eleanor Bergstein, the film’s writer and co-producer, told Parade magazine, “I wanted a hooded quality in the eyes - someone a father would never want for his daughter.’’
When she saw Mr. Swayze, Bergstein said, “I told him I couldn’t imagine doing the movie without him.’’
After several action films, he accepted the role of an investment banker in “Ghost.’’ His character, killed during a robbery, helps his lover (Moore) solve the crime with the aid of a psychic played by Whoopi Goldberg.
A signature moment showed Mr. Swayze’s dead character embracing Moore as “Unchained Melody’’ swells.
Despite brief success as a heartthrob, Mr. Swayze’s career remained uneven. He was a philosophy major turned bouncer in “Road House’’ (1989); a Chicago police officer avenging his brother’s murder in “Next of Kin’’ (1989); and a surfing bank robber in “Point Break’’ (1991).
Most of the action films met with critical disappointment. So did his attempts for a more daring career, from the drag queen Vida Boheme he played in “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar’’ (1995) to the suicidally forlorn American doctor who finds redemption in Calcutta in “City of Joy’’ (1992).
Mr. Swayze prepared for the latter role by volunteering to work with the dying at Mother Teresa’s Calcutta clinic and told the Washington Post, “This film is about my insides screaming to move further as an actor, to see what’s on the other side.’’
Patrick Wayne Swayze was born in Houston, where he performed at his mother’s ballet school. This led to bullying by kids, he said. With his mother’s approval, he beat them up.
His mother, Patsy, later choreographed dance sequences in the John Travolta film “Urban Cowboy’’ (1980). His father, Jesse Wayne Swayze, an alcoholic, died in 1982. Mr. Swayze said he also struggled with heavy drinking for many years in Hollywood.
Besides dancing, Mr. Swayze played football and studied martial arts as a youth.
He left for New York at 19 and attended the Joffrey and Harkness ballet schools. He began to study acting after an old knee injury from football harmed his career as a dancer.
In addition to his mother, Mr. Swayze leaves his wife, Lisa Niemi, whom he married in 1975; two brothers, including actor Don Swayze; and a sister, Bambi.
Material from the Washington Post and Associated Press was used in this obituary. 