Patrick Swayze

Since he was a child, Patrick made it clear that his thing was not studies, but physical activity in all its varieties. He stood out remarkably in track and field and football, although he had to leave the latter due to injury. After this, he then decided to enroll in a dance school. His mother, choreographer Patsy Swayze, had passed on his passion for dance; in fact, it would be preciselyDirty Dancing , where he played dance teacher Johnny Castle, the film that would make him a star. This film, which marked an entire generation and several of the following, narrated, dances aside, the relationship between a pimp and an innocent rich girl, very much in line with what he had already doneGrease a decade earlier (incidentally Swayze had played a role in the play of the same name).

After this, he would once again put himself in the shoes of a dancer inOne last dance (2003) and in Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights (2004), half sequel, half remake much inferior to the original, where Swayze was relegated to a secondary role as a dance instructor.

His great film debut -after having taken his first steps in the theater- came from the hands of Francis Ford Coppola inRebels , where he met other young promises of his time, such as Matt Dillon , Rob Lowe or Tom Cruise .

A year later he was part of the cast ofRed Dawn , a mediocre film about a utopian World War III marked by the invasion of the United States by the Soviet communists. Here she met Jennifer Grey , who years later would be her partner in Dirty Dancing .

In 1986 he starred inYoungblood. Champion’s Forge , again alongside Rob Lowe. Swayze once again flaunted his sporting skills in this ice hockey sports drama.

In 1987 he achieved fame with Dirty Dancing , a musical with which he consolidated his career, and with which he reached number one on the North American charts with his single “She’s like the wind”, composed and sung by himself for the film .

Three years later he became the most famous ghost in movie history when he played the spirit of a loving husband inGhost . Swayze and Demi Moore –the skeptical widow- managed, with this melodrama, to break box office records and become one of the most frequent options –even today- on the television grid.

The multifaceted actor would not achieve success similar to that of these last two bombings, although he continued to accept regular roles in films such asThey call it bodhiThe city of joyPublic enemy number 1…, my father ,Letters from a murderer orForever Lulu .

In 2001 he got a supporting role in that bizarre story that wasDonnie Darko , who rescued some veterans of the interpretation, like Katharine Ross (The Graduate ).

Finally he traced his career a bit with his appearance inGreen Dragon , where he gave a great performance as the sergeant at a Vietnamese refugee camp in Pendleton, California.

His last work for the big screen was in 2007 withDeath and Punishment , where Swayze plays a lawyer who, against his principles, must defend an innocent Jew accused of his father’s murder.

In 2008, the 56-year-old actor was diagnosed with terrible pancreatic cancer. The doctors noted improvements and relapses every two by three, and soon the press began to date his life. Patrick, however, decided that the best way to stay healthy – at least in spirit – was to continue working, so he did not hesitate to accept a leading role in a television series titled The Beast . Swayze played a veteran FBI agent who must train a new officer.