Losing Patrick Swayze
Why the versatile actor never fit in Hollywood, and why he’ll be missed
Patrick Swayze (1952-2009)
Patrick Swayze “danced into hearts, then broke them,” said Andrew Dansby in the San Francisco Chronicle. The “hunky actor” died Monday of pancreatic cancer, at age 57. From his first lead role, in Red Dawn (1984), through his “first role as an icon,” in Dirty Dancing (1987), to his biggest hit, the “prototypical date-flick romance” Ghost (1990), Swayze was “among the biggest movie stars in the world” (watch Swayze’s dance finale in Dirty Dancing and pottery scene in Ghost).
Still, he “just never fit the Hollywood hunk mold,” said Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times. He had the looks, the “body and grace of a panther,” and the “chiseled” cheeks and abs, but the Houston native also had a “decency and dignity”—“no strange eccentricities, no sex tapes to be leaked”—that didn’t fit Hollywood’s tabloid culture. Until his January 2008 cancer diagnosis, tabloids “had no taste for him”—then, shamefully, they wouldn’t leave him alone.
Patrick Swayze will be remembered most for Dirty Dancing and Ghost, said Peter Suderman in Reason. But for me he’ll always be the “beer-chugging, mullet-coiffed, naked-martial-arts-practicing bouncer in Road House.” It’s not a great flick, but “Swayze’s delightfully vacant Zen-thuggery” made you not care. “Here’s hoping there are bar fights in the afterlife; if so, they just got a little more awesome.”
Sure, Swayze played “many tough guys,” said Bob Tourtellotte in Reuters, and he was tough in real life, working through the pain of chemotherapy. But he also disproved the old saw that “tough guys don’t dance.” He danced, he “could turn a head or two,” and he loved, staying married to Lisa Niemi for more than 30 years—“now, that’s tough, and classy.”
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9 Comments
Posted by Johnny Reb, Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 10:10 am I think its disgusting that people are so sad, so sad, talking about what a great actor he was and what a tragic loss this is now that he's dead. For years he was a joke because of movies like Point Break and Roadhouse. His death is indeed a tragic thing but don't let yourself forget that you didn't give a damn until he died.
Posted by Austin, Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 10:17 am Saying nice things about decent people who died: It's okay.
Posted by Tenzin, Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 12:36 pm Sure Patrick Swayze may not have been a great actor, but many his performances were visceral, unique and convincing and there was an innate sweetness and honesty about him that came thru. Although i'm not a fan of his....but i appreciated those qualities in him and i liked him in The Outsiders and Ghost. But to call him a joke is just plain rude, and ignorant ...esp. after the man just passed away. Patrick and much thanks for all the great memories...may you RIP.
Posted by Johnny Reb, Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 12:51 pm Clarification: I never called him a joke, many people considered him such. I didn't, he was just an actor who made his living. It bugs me that people who thought he was the greatest thing ever in Dirty Dancing and Ghost forgot he existed and laughed at him when he faded afterwards now mourn him like he was a beloved friend. He was an actor, they were fairweather fans, they got no right to say anything. Love 'em when they're up and love 'em when they're down or don't love 'em at all.
Posted by Joey, Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 12:52 pm By the way...his first movie was the Outsiders, not Red Dawn.
Posted by Caleb, Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 2:31 pm Yes his first onscreen role was The Outsiders, but the article says his first lead role was Red Dawn.
Posted by Rae, Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 4:33 pm Besides being a good dancer :0 I respected him for NOT being the far to typical outsized egotiscal loudmouthed celebrity shooting off this mouth about subjects and people he had no knowledge of...Patrick was simply a gentleman and his kind are ALWAYS missed.
Posted by nem0.n00ne, Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 9:14 pm Enjoyed some of his movies hated others. But he always seemed like a decent human being. That more than a couple of movies makes him someone who will be missed. Rest in Peace.
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