Adieu Patrick Swayze

It was only sometime last week when i was watching the movie Ghost with my girlfriend at home on a last Saturday night. It still remains one of the most romantic and touching films of the 1990's and remains fresh even to this day. What struck me the most was the amazing chemistry of the beautiful Demi Moore and the charismatic Patrick Swayze. I had always felt given time , this actor would have gone to greater heights with other film roles. Unfortunately that film was Swayze's last truly memorable role.

A few days ago, after battling pancreatic cancer for 20 months or so, Patrick Swayze, the charming charismatic man who made Ghost one of my truly favourite films had died at age 57.The recent pictures of him show a man who has aged with time but his smile remains throughout though anyone battles with cancer often find it difficult to smile with such ease.

For many this actor who was born August 18 1952 in Houston Texas. He was the second child of Jesse Wayne Swayze and Patricia Yvonne Helen who was a choreographer , dance instructer and also a dancer.The future actor would spend most of early life involved in various aspects of dance and eventually he moved to complete his formal dance training at the Harkness Ballet and Joffrey ballet schools in 1972.

His debut film role was in Skatetown USA and even managed to make a unrecognisable appearance in M.A.S.H as private Sturgis. But all the small roles did not prepare Swayze for his breakthrough in Dirty Dancing in 1987. His performance as Johnny Castle was memorable and the low budget film became a massive blockbuster. It is also interesting to note that Swayze also wrote on of the songs on the soundtrack to the fim "Shes like the wind" which went on to become a top ten hit.

This film unfortunately was only one of two which i can really remember him for , the rest were basically a rehash of his character in Dirty Dancing, But it was his performance in Ghost alongside Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg that led to him to his second global blockbuster,

It remains to be one of the most romantic films of my generation and the poignant moments in the film make it a true romantic classic.

Patrick Swayze was married to Lisa Niemi from June 12 1975 until his recent death. The couple though has no children. Despite his efforts to recover from the cancer that inflicted him, Patrick Swayze eventually died on the 14^th September 2009 in the company of his family, 20 months after having being diagnosed of pancreatic cancer.