Actor, Dancer. Patrick Wayne Swayze was the son of a dance instructor and an engineering drafter and one of five children. He engaged in a number of artistic pursuits starting in childhood, including dance, ice skating, acting, and gymnastics. At the age of 20, he moved to New York to train with the Harkness and Joffrey ballet schools. After appearing in Disney on Parade and the Broadway production of "Grease," he made his first film appearance in the 1979 movie "Skatetown, U.S.A." After a number of roles in both TV and film, he first came to national prominence in 1985 in the Civil War TV miniseries "North and South," starring as Southerner Orry Main. Two years later, he took the lead role of dance instructor Johnny Castle in the blockbuster movie "Dirty Dancing." Included on the soundtrack was a song entitled "She's Like the Wind," composed and performed by Swayze. In a nod to the beefcake reputation he had earned for his performances in "Dirty Dancing" and "Roadhouse," Swayze was selected as People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" for 1991. Several more hit movies followed, including "Roadhouse," "Ghost," "Point Break" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar." He acted steadily through the ensuing years and eventually expanded his focus to include voice-over work in "The Fox and the Hound 2." He also added to his experience in live theater, performing in "Guys and Dolls" in 2006. His final project was an A&E television series, "The Beast," in which he played an FBI agent. However, due to his spreading pancreatic cancer, he was unable to promote the series, and it was cancelled after only five months on the air. Swayze was married for 34 years to Lisa Niemi, one of his mother's dance students.
Actor, Dancer. Patrick Wayne Swayze was the son of a dance instructor and an engineering drafter and one of five children. He engaged in a number of artistic pursuits starting in childhood, including dance, ice skating, acting, and gymnastics. At the age of 20, he moved to New York to train with the Harkness and Joffrey ballet schools. After appearing in Disney on Parade and the Broadway production of "Grease," he made his first film appearance in the 1979 movie "Skatetown, U.S.A." After a number of roles in both TV and film, he first came to national prominence in 1985 in the Civil War TV miniseries "North and South," starring as Southerner Orry Main. Two years later, he took the lead role of dance instructor Johnny Castle in the blockbuster movie "Dirty Dancing." Included on the soundtrack was a song entitled "She's Like the Wind," composed and performed by Swayze. In a nod to the beefcake reputation he had earned for his performances in "Dirty Dancing" and "Roadhouse," Swayze was selected as People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" for 1991. Several more hit movies followed, including "Roadhouse," "Ghost," "Point Break" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar." He acted steadily through the ensuing years and eventually expanded his focus to include voice-over work in "The Fox and the Hound 2." He also added to his experience in live theater, performing in "Guys and Dolls" in 2006. His final project was an A&E television series, "The Beast," in which he played an FBI agent. However, due to his spreading pancreatic cancer, he was unable to promote the series, and it was cancelled after only five months on the air. Swayze was married for 34 years to Lisa Niemi, one of his mother's dance students.
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Bio by: countedx58
