Patrick Swayze (1952-2009)

Wow. Patrick Swayze has died of pancreatic cancer at the young age of 57. What made him famous was two roles in particular: Johnny Castle in "Dirty Dancing" (1987) and Sam Wheat in "Ghost" (1990). As good as he was in those movies, the role that I will always remember Patrick Swayze for is in the two "North and South" television mini-series, which aired in 1985-1986, where he played Orry Main. The two miniseries were based on novels by John Jakes ~ fantastic historical fiction.

I think the first film I ever saw Swayze in was "The Outsiders" (1983), which came out when I was in the 8th grade - Mrs. Rancourt took us on a field trip to see it at the movie theater. We were reading the novel, by S.E Hinton, in her English class at the time.

Patrick Swayze seemed to be one who always carried himself with grace and humility in his public life. That seems to be a rare trait with most Hollywood celebrities. He certainly wasn't a self promoter, that's for sure.

"I believe in a higher power. I've studied Eastern philosophies, and I've studied the Koran. We've devalued everything worth believing in. Now we're tearing into religion. A line should be drawn. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and The Da Vinci Code (2006) borders on that. I was glued to the book, but afterwards I thought, 'My Lord, now we're tearing into God and our faith'. Are we going to be turning into a reality show, too? I certainly hope not." -Patrick Swayze

Here is a tribute story from the LA Times.