Patrick Swayze

Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. Having gained fame with appearances in films during the 1980s, Swayze became popular for playing tough guys and romantic lead males, gaining him a wide fan base with female audiences, and status as a teen idol and sex symbol. He starred in films from a range of genres, including the drama The Outsiders (1983), in the war film Red Dawn (1984), the Vietnam rescue film Uncommon Valor (1984), the classic hockey film Youngblood (1986), post-war apocalyptic action film Steel Dawn (1987), the romantic coming-of-age drama Dirty Dancing (1987), the action Road House (1989), the romantic fantasy/crime thriller Ghost (1990), the action crime film Point Break (1991), the comedy To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), the action film Black Dog (1998), the supernatural drama Donnie Darko (2001), the drama Jump! (2003), the comedy drama 11:14 (2003), and two television series: 1985's North and South and in 2009, The Beast, his last acting role. During his career he received three Golden Globe Award nominations and was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991. 2Early life Patrick Wayne Swayze was born on August 18, 1952, in Houston, Texas, the second child of Patsy Swayze (née Karnes; 1927–2013), a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer, and Jesse Wayne Swayze (1925–1982), an engineering draftsman. He had two younger brothers, actor Don (born 1958) and Sean Kyle (born 1962), and two sisters, Vickie Lynn (1949–1994) and Bambi. Swayze and his siblings were raised in their mother's Roman Catholic faith. Until the age of 20, Swayze lived in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston, where he attended S