Was there ANYTHING this guy couldn't do??  As he proved over & over AGAAIN - NO!!!  Patrick was larger than LIFE!  Every human being loved him... From t-shirts, to tats, & beyond... No doubt - he was a BRAND as well!  When it came to acting.. he was a ONE-MAN BRAND!  When it came to grit & determination... I NEVER HAVE KNOWN NOR SEEN that in anyone like Patrick 'Buddy' Swayze!!  Not since FRED ASTAIRE... has one been SOO born to dance!
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​I remember editing a video when I heard the announcement on CNN that Patrick Swayze had been diagnosed with cancer.  I remember vividly thinking ..."uh oh - they flubbed that one."  Then after pausing a minute, I thought... "they HAD to be mistaking."  Sadly - they were not.  Pat was among my favorite of Hollywood legends!    In that respect... I am a bit nervous about telling his story because I want to get everything in here.  Prep for this story has been a year in the making.  Even in editing the Warner Bros. Story - when I wasn't doing that, I was researching Pat.  There is STILL a hole in the heart of Hollywood .. that hole, once occupied by this AMAZINGLY, UNBELIEVABLE, TALENTED entertainer known as Patrick Swayze.  I remember first seeing Patrick in the film, "The Outsiders," and thinking there was something unique about him.  I was a kid and couldn't put a handle on it at the time.  Today - as an adult, I realize what I couldn't get a handle on .. what the uniqueness was about Pat, was how UNBELIEVABLY talented an entertainer he was!!  

The term ... "GO FOR BROKE", is a cliche - but absolutely fitting for Patrick Swayze!  He went beyond broke, and broke records and a few of his own bones in the process!  He was a legend ... long before he ever got started!!  As a method actor .. he could do and did do, it all!Comedy, drama, action, & adventure.  Whatever role he took was mastered with razor sharp fine precision.  Not only did he act.  His talents commanded singing, dancing, kickboxing, writing, producing, as well as 'all the while,' entertaining us fickle folk as an actor.  IMO - his talent had not been likened to and seen since the days of Chaplin!   I still sometimes find myself watching a film thinking .. I STILL can't believe he is gone!!  I still love seeing the old interviews and hearing (or seeing) a quote of his!!  Some of my faves ...

​..Good-looking people turn me off. Myself included.     
..How do you nurture a positive attitude when all the statistics say you're a dead man? You go to work.
..I'm still fine to work, I haven't changed - oh, I have changed, what am I saying? It's a battle-zone I go through. Chemo, no matter how you cut it, is hell on wheels.
..Five years is pretty wishful thinking ... two years seems likely if you're going to believe statistics. I want to last until they find a cure, which means I'd better get a fire under it!

With his quotes said .. here is his story ...

Patrick Wayne Swayze was born August 18th, 1952, in Houston, Texas.  He was born of a talented entertainer mom (dance instructor and choreographer), and an engineer draftsman father.   He grew up on this street, in this hood (now you can live in this hood as well), by these festive neighbors (these photos were taken at the beginning of August, mind you, passion - would be an understatement?), in this cozy home! (Thanks to hollywoodlegends.net buddy, Shirley who drove to Houston from Ft. Worth on a Saturday, to take these photos!! What a sweetheart gal.  She says her camera phone is on its way out but I think the pics turned out VERY nice .. and my BIGGEST thanks Shirley!)  Pat's beginnings were humble .. and from what I hear .. he was to stay humble till the end!  He was a straight shooter.  What personality you mostly saw on-screen - was  what you got off-screen.  His mom, Patsi, was a driven sweet lady - and you can read a cool story on her here..

From a very young age, Pat took a hankering in the arts & sports.  From ice skating, to classical ballet, to music, to acting in school plays.  He attended St. Rose Catholic School .. but moved to Oak Forest Elementary to further his artistic abilities.  From there ..he then went on to Frank Black Middle School, from there .. to Waltrip High School, where he would graduate & developed his keen love of football!  As anything else he pursued, he was a stand-out & up foozball player!  Here is a pic from his high school yearbook.   He was hoping to receive a football scholarship for college, but a high school injury his senior year prevented that... In his autobio... He said... "Changed his life."

 'Twas while at his moms studio as a teen, he met his soulmate.. Lisa Niemi. She was a student of Pat's dance instructor mother...he was 18, She..14 - he patiently waited till she hit the magical mark of 18,  before interest "officially" started. (yah  know??!)  Once started however .. it was to snowball into an undying, devoted, happy marriage literally .. till death did them apart.  These reports are shocking sometimes!  They had a marriage dreams are made of!!  Pat's first appearance on  a national scenario was for 'Disney on Parade.'  From there - on to a Broadway (one of MAAAANY beat to death) versions of... wait for it ...  Grease!   After Disney on Parade - he moved to New York living here..

His debut film role, came in the film 'Skatetown.' Crank your speakers to boogie woogie & get down!  
From there he had several guest spots on various tv shows, and even did a spot for Pabst Blue Ribbon!  WHAT'LL YA HAVE?!?

 He & his wife lived here, in this modest LA condo.  Mr. Doorman says he is parked in the spot where Patrick parked...  breakthru role of Johnny Castle - in the hit 'Dirty Dancing.'  The film was supposed to be low-budget film that was intended to be shown in theaters for one weekend only and then go straight to video.  Upon the fickle public's reaction to it's release ... Hollywood was shocked when the film shot to the top.  (THAT'S what the news headlines said.  Officially .. if you know  Hollywood you know, the public is unpredictable as Florida weather ... Anything can (& usually will) happen when it comes to the public & moviegoers.)  Anyway - it was a hit!  An incredible SMASH HIT!  Only problem .. Pat was typecasted.  A real-life Hollywood HORROR!  It's something ALL actors  want to avoid... AT ALL COSTS!   The film DID produce a number one hit song, "She's Like the Wind", and introduced a fickle public to another fact ..... Swayze could SING!  The song, Patrick said, he wrote for his wife.  The video and song are GREAT!

After the success of Dirty Dancing, Pat & wife, Lisa, moved here .. into this posh Studio City home. (Here is a shot of the driveway.  Shot of Pat by the pool?? Mmkay!
He went on to conquer however, with my personal favorite, Next of Kin, (with another fav of mine - Liam Neeson. Lets put our thankin' caps on boys! It was classic LOVE IT!)   Then, 'Road House' (SMASHaLOO.) (a film in which more of his awesome vocal talents were utilized.  Then 'Ghost.'  (BAM, BAM...SMASH!)  Just those three garnered him legendary status. 

In 1994, his sister Vicki, overdosed ..in this light.. Pat periodically dismissed himself from Hollywood to seek treatment from alcoholism.  He retreated to the solice of his New Mexico Ranch, and his beloved horses.  The next time the world saw him .. it was making news headlines.  According to CNN ...'While flying with his dogs in his twin-engine Cessna from Van Nuys, California to Las Vegas. His plane developed a pressurization problem, causing Swayze to make a precautionary landing on a dirt road in a housing complex in Prescott Valley. The plane's right wing struck a light pole, but Swayze was unharmed. He locked the cockpit, left the aircraft in the subdivision, and obtained a ride—with his dogs—from a passing vehicle, allegedly in order to telephone the authorities. According to the police report, witnesses said that Swayze appeared to be extremely intoxicated and asked for help to remove evidence—an open bottle of wine and a 30-pack of beer—from the crash site.[32] He made himself unavailable to police for several hours. It was later determined that the alcohol in question was not in the cabin, but stored in external storage compartments inaccessible in flight and that the probable cause of the accident was Swayze's physical impairment due to the cumulative effects of carbon monoxide from engine exhaust by-products, carbon monoxide from heavy tobacco use, and the loss of an undetermined amount of cabin pressurization."  Cue the crickets! ....Glad they made it clear, eh?  Ya just gotta love the turds who make that shit up!  I am talking of the toilet turds of course who told media he enlisted their help to remove the alcohol.  People like that live to cause trouble and should be hung by the nuts, or tits for female. Just my opine... which you know what they say 'bout those...

In January of 2008 .. Pat was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer and given an experimental drug supposed cut off the blood supply to his tumor at the Stanford University Medical Center.  From all first signs .. Pat seemed to be getting benefit from the drugs.  The tumor developed resistance, and chemo was started.  Tabloids went over the edge & ape shit as usual printing the lies we are so used to!!  For awhile, it seemed as if Pat was in remission.  He told Babbs in an interview, '"That's one thing I'm not gonna do, is chase, is chase staying alive. I'm not, you know, you'll spend so much time chasing staying alive you won't live, you know? I wanna live. If anybody had that cure out there like so many people swear to me they do, you'd be two things: you'd be very rich, and you'd be very famous. Otherwise, shut up!'  I AGREE!!  He is SO right!  It kills me how some people get on their soapbox saying, 'O .. there is a cure - it's not been released yet...' or 'it's in the works, there has been a cure but the FDA won't release it.' Pshh! 
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Patrick continued to work... when he could.  Production began in Chicago on the A&E television series , The Beast."   Certain days would be better than other and it usually went hand in hand with Pat's chemo.  Tabloids did their scummy thing, the bastards!! Pat pushed on, however.  Owing to a prolonged decline in health, Pat was unable to promote the series ..and on January 9, 2009, was hospitalized with pneumonia. The pneumonia was said to be a complication of chemotherapy treatments for his cancer.  After a month of rest ..he seemed to be doing a little better, but it was short lived.  On April 19, 2009, doctors informed Patrick that the cancer had again started to re-infiltrate his liver & while they would continue working to lower the spread .. it was to the point where they could do no more.  Pat went home to spend time with Lisa, his wife.

On September 14, 2009, fans, Hollywood, & the WORLD .. got the news they SO dreaded to hear.  Patrtick's publicist, Annett Wolf, confirmed to CNN that he had died to the disease of pancreatic cancer,at his ranch earlier that morning with family by his side.  We all KNEW it was coming, but that still DID NOT make it any easier.   Hollywood did it's thing .. fans in droves honored Patrick with a memorial at Lula Lake in N.C., where Dirty Dancing was filmed, and friends and family turned out for his funeral in mass numbers.  After the funeral, Patrick was creamated and his ashes scattered over his New Mexico, Ranch.  You can leave your condolances and virtual non-wilting flowers, here!    

May you rest in beautiful peace Patrick.  While we will all miss your charm, wit, smile, and TALENT .. we know you are entertaining them up there!  Most of all - you are FREE from the tabloids, forever!  I think the folk at the tabloids go down (opposite from you) when they die!  Your reflection here still shines VERY brightly!!  For the sun NEVER sets on a legend .. and you, my friend, are what legends .. are made of! 

His wife Lisa, continues to live on the ranch... His star - just after his death, was immersed with flowers, etc.  His autograph?
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TRIVIA:
He was a HUGE Tennessee Vols fan, and had season passes which he & wife Lisa, utilized as his schedule allowed.  Ray Austin recounts ..Funny, he is actually a big Tennessee fan!  Knew alot of players their by name and number! He'd make it a point to always congratulate them after any game - whether win or loss.


Has a brother who is an actor, named Don Swayze.  Don has managed to stay under the radar with a nice career in Hollywood!!

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#PatrickSwayze | #Swayze

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