Patrick Swayze:
Was an American actor, dancer and singer songwriter
Birth Name: Patrick Wayne Swayze

Born: August 18, 1952, Houston, Texas, United States 
Died: September 14, 2009, Los Angeles, California, United States 

After college, he left school to tour with the Disney on Parade ice show. In 1976, he redirected his efforts toward stage acting. Success brought him to Hollywood, where he made his film debut. In 1981, he made his TV debut. He continued to show audiences his range with a series of independent films. In 2009, he died of cancer.

Aspiring Dancer:

 Swayze developed a love for ballet and was often teased by fellow classmates. Throughout high school, he set aside his dance career to concentrate on athletics — juggling gymnastics, swimming, and football. After graduation, he was offered both athletic and dance scholarships. He opted for athletics and enrolled at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, where he focused on gymnastics. Two years later, Swayze left school to tour with the Disney on Parade ice show, as Snow White's Prince Charming.
After touring, Swayze returned home, where he fell in love with Lisa Niemi, his mother's 16-year-old dance student. In 1972, he traveled to New York City to pursue a dance career. After Lisa's high school graduation, she joined Swayze in New York,

Turn to acting:

In 1976, he redirected his efforts toward stage acting, and made his Broadway debut in Goodtime Charley. He later appeared in West Side Story, and in 1978, he won the leading role in the musical Grease. Swayze's high-profile performance as Danny Zuko led to many television and movie offers.
Eventually, his stage success brought him to Hollywood, where he made his film debut as a vigilante roller skater in Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979). Swayze experienced a milestone in 1983, when director Francis Ford Coppola cast him in The Outsiders, alongside future stars Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Emilio Estevez.
In 1981, Swayze added television to his repertoire with a notable portrayal of a leukemia patient on the series M*A*S*H,as a soldier diagnosed with leukemia.
 He is also credited for his work in the 1985 miniseries North and South along with the 1986 sequel
During the mid-80s, Swayze appeared in a few forgettable films, including Red Dawn and Grandview, U.S.A. (1984).  He starred in films from a range of genres, including the drama The Outsiders (1983), the war film Red Dawn (1983), the Vietnam rescue film Uncommon Valor (1984), 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 film Donnie Darko (2001), and the drama Jump! (2008), as well as in the television serials North and South and The Beast, his final role.

Hollywood's Star:

He landed his breakthrough role as dance instructor "Johnny Castle" in the hit film Dirty Dancing (1987), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.  He received a second nomination for his portrayal of "Sam Wheat" in the blockbuster Ghost: La sombra del amor (1990),
The film, which co-starred Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, revived Swayze's struggling career.  He later partnered with Keanu Reeves in the action-adventure Point Break (1991), followed by 1992's City of Joy. Both films met with moderate success, and Swayze's rise to superstardom seemed to taper off for the next few years.   In 1991, he starred alongside Youngblood castmate Keanu Reeves in another major action hit, Point Break, and he was chosen by People magazine as that year's "Sexiest Man Alive"
For his contributions to the film industry, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997.

City of Joy,  La ciudad de la alegría (1992) as

Max Lowe. Diverse Roles: In 1995, Swayze teamed up with fellow actors Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo to play a trio of drag queens in the comedy To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Swayze's performance as Vida Boheme won him a third Golden Globe nomination in 1996. In 1997, Swayze broke his right leg in a horse-riding accident while filming Letters From a Killer (1998).  Tall Tale (1995), Despite his struggles, he continued to make films, starring in the romantic comedies Forever Lulu (2000) with Melanie Griffith, and Wakin' Up In Reno (2002), co-starring Natasha Richardson and Charlize Theron. Also wowed audiences once again with his proficiency as a dancer in the romantic dramas, One Last Dance (2003) and a sequel to his popular Dirty Dancing feature, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004). And in December 2003 returned to Broadway as a replacement for the lead role of "Billy Flynn" in the acclaimed revival of John Kander & Fred Ebb's musical, "Chicago". In Donnie Darko (2001), Swayze played a television personality with a dark secret,  wherein he played a famous motivational speaker revealed to be a closet pedophile.  In 2002, he co-starred with Billy Bob Thornton and Charlize Theron in Waking Up in Reno, which focuses on two redneck couples taking a road trip from Little Rock to Reno to see a monster truck rally. In 2004, he played Allan Quartermain in King Solomon's Mines and had a cameo appearance in the Dirty Dancing prequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, as an unnamed dance instructor.  Swayze made his West End theatre début in the musical Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit on July 27, 2006 also provided the voice for Cash the country music band dog in The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006), and in 2007 he starred in the film Christmas in Wonderland. Swayze played an aging rock star in Powder Blue (2008), co-starring his younger brother Don in their first film together. In his final role, Swayze starred in the A&E FBI drama The Beast,  filmed in Chicago, as FBI Agent Charles Barke.

Personal Life:

Swayze was married to Lisa Niemi for 34 years beginning on June 12, 1975. The couple first met in 1970, when Swayze was 18 years old. Niemi, 14 years old at the time, was taking dance lessons from Swayze's mother. Swayze and Niemi had no children.^. In a 2008 interview, Swayze stated that Niemi was the inspiration for his hit song, "She's Like the Wind" (1987).