Patrick's childhood
Actor Patsy Swayze's mother was a famous choreographer and owned a private ballet school. Of course, little Patrick started doing ballet. But he was not only interested in dancing. Thanks to his talent and perseverance, he achieved success in literally everything: studies, music, sports. He played excellent football, swam, did gymnastics and martial arts. Patsy taught him that he should be first in everything. After graduating from his mother's school with honors, Swayze leaves for New York. Here he studies at Harkness House for Ballet Arts and Joffrey Ballet School. His teachers predict a brilliant career in ballet for him.
The beginning of Patrick Swayze's career
After graduating from ballet schools, Patrick Swayze went to New York, where he began performing in the Broadway musical Diamond. Handsome and graceful, Swayze quickly won the love of the public and became a star. He became a leading dancer in the prestigious Elliot Feld Dance Company. He was even lucky to perform on the same stage with ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov. Patrick dreamed of becoming a professional ballet dancer, but these dreams were not destined to come true; this was prevented by a knee injury he received while playing football in his school years.
The audience did not suspect that the dancer was forced to endure terrible pain during performances; he endured it, realizing that if he left the stage, they would quickly forget about him. At some point, he needed emergency surgery, after which the doctor said that he would have to give up ballet. This was a big shock for Patrick, he was a born dancer and couldn’t do anything else. His mother supported him and advised him to take up an acting career, reminding him that even as a child he acted in TV series. Patrick Swayze After leaving ballet, Swayze followed his mother’s advice and began to study acting. In 1979, he made his debut in a cameo role in the film Skatetown. Then he starred in the series “Renegades”, “The Bible”, “MASH” and the cult series “North and South”. Then he began acting in feature films: “Outlaws” (1983), “Red Dawn” (1984), “Young Blood” (1986).
His first big success was the leading role in the film “Dirty Dancing” in 1987. The film grossed more than $170 million in its first year of release. Swayze's fee was $200 thousand. In 1988, Patrick Swayze received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his role. His co-star Jennifer Gray received the same award.
After such success, the actor received offers to star in new films. Pictures with his participation were released annually: “Steel Dawn” (1987), “Warsaw Nicknamed the Tiger” (1988), “Road House” (1989), “Next of Kin” (1989). In 1990, Swayze starred in the drama Ghost alongside Demi Moore. This film also turned out to be very successful. For his role, Patrick received the Saturn Award for Best Actor in 1991. He gained the status of a Hollywood star and subsequently starred in many films, the most famous of which: “Point Break” (1991), “City of Pleasure” (1992), “Desperate Dad” (1993), “Black Dog” (1998) , Letters from a Killer (1998), Donnie Darko (2001).
Thanks to his excellent coordination, Patrick always performed his own stunts, without the help of stunt doubles, which did not always end well. In the filming of one of the films, according to the script, he had to ride through the forest on a horse without a bridle or saddle. At some point, the horse was carried out of the clearing onto a huge oak tree, this ended for the actor in a fall and breaking both legs, he needed to have metal rods implanted and spend a long time in a cast. As soon as the plaster was removed, Patrick immediately began training for a speedy recovery.
The film "Ghost", Patrick Swayze After this story, he developed an insane passion for horses, he began to breed them on his ranch in Northern California. He later took part in desert horse racing in the United Arab Emirates. For a thrill-seeker, these were ideal conditions: unbearable heat, endless desert and mad horses. After four hours of the race, Patrick reached the finish line, he was the only American or European who succeeded. He took 35th place, but in the eyes of his Arab rivals he was already a hero, since he managed to cover the entire distance.
Star Trek actor
Participation in the musical “Grease” on Broadway brought him his first success. But at the end of the 70s there was an unexpected collapse of all hopes. An old injury to the kneecap reminded me of itself and required surgery. Afterwards, the doctor adamantly declared: dancing professionally is prohibited! At first Patrick was confused, it was a terrible blow - his life was in ballet. Then the decision came: I needed to try out for films. He began taking acting lessons and starring in TV series. Fame came to the young actor after his roles in low-budget films - “Outcasts” and “North and South”.
But real fame came after the release of Dirty Dancing. Patrick Swayze found himself in the familiar and beloved role of a professional dancer. While teaching dance to wealthy clients, the charming protagonist maintained his purity and sincerity, which won the hearts of millions of viewers. In this film, the actor revealed himself as a talented lyrical hero. After a successful release, Swayze had no end to offers. The next success was the role of Sam Whit in the fantasy melodrama “Ghost”. His partner was Demi Moore. Moreover, under the patronage of Swayze himself, an admirer of Whoopi Goldberg’s talent, the actress was invited to play the role of the swindler Oda Mae Brown. The colossal success makes Patrick Swayze one of the most popular Hollywood actors. Subsequently, he played in films of various genres: from adventure dramas to tragicomedies. In addition to acting, he had many hobbies. Swayze wrote and performed his own songs, raised horses on his own ranch in California - he was always busy with something. And when a terrible diagnosis was announced - pancreatic cancer - the actor decided to continue filming in the series - “The Beast”. He bravely refused painkillers to prevent the drugs from affecting his game. In an interview, he said that he went through hell for the sake of filming. After 20 months of debilitating illness, Patrick Swayze passed away. It happened on September 14, 2009.
Actor Patrick Swayze - biography, films, photos
- Actors
07/10/2014
Anna Savchenko
290
Actors like Patrick Swayze are born with a one in a million chance. Charisma and charm are the main features that an actor must have in addition to his professional qualities of acting on stage. Patrick successfully combined all these features.
Biography of Patrick Swayze:
It is interesting in itself and full of various turning points in the actor’s life. Even before films with Patrick Swayze began to come out, his life was artistic. The future actor’s mother was a famous dancer and also a choreographer. “I was a very homely boy. Shy and modest. My mother introduced me to dancing, and I never, ever thought that this was not a man’s activity or that it was not suitable for me.
I was able to dance, and that was the most important thing for me at that time.” Patrick Swayze's dancing was so perfect that the guy successfully graduated from two ballet schools, which were renowned for their strict discipline and complexity of the program. The origin of the Swayze family was also interesting: he mixed the blood of the brave Irish and the valiant English. He also had Apache ancestors in his family.
But the actor was not only interested in dancing. “Since childhood, I have had varied hobbies. Don’t think that I was limited to ballet school, and couldn’t even stand up for myself. One gets the impression that all the dancers are sissies or representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation.
Patrick Swayze photo #2
I was neither one nor the other. I personally signed up for the martial arts section, where the course was taught by famous and experienced masters. I studied hard and was able to get a black belt in kung fu, which not many people can do.” The actor’s talent for fighting well came in handy not only on dark and dangerous streets. In the film Roadhouse, Patrick Swayze played the role of a security representative who stood near one of the bars. For the role of such a thug, capable of kicking out even the most notorious hooligan from the establishment, Patrick’s skill came in handy.
Films with Patrick Swayze quickly brought long-awaited popularity. The debut film was “Skate City”. At the same time, Patrick Swayze had to give up his ballet and any dance career in general. The fact is that professional participation in dancing began to cause pain to the actor, the cause of which was an injury that the actor unsuccessfully earned a long time ago in football. “I’m not upset that I had to quit professional ballet. After all, I was able to become a choreographer at my ballet school, and this is much cooler!”
The school opened by Patrick was called the Elliott Feld Dance Company. In between teaching and filming, Patrick took acting lessons. “I wanted to expand my professional horizons. If I couldn't become the dancer who dances the best, then I had to try to become the actor who acts the best." In 1984, the first “fruit” of his joint work with the tutor came out - a role in the anti-Soviet film “Red Dawn”.
Patrick Swayze photo #3
The main popularity was brought by the film “Dirty Dancing” starring Patrick Swayze. “It was a pure gamble that collected huge box office receipts. The film was shot on a tiny budget, so it more than paid for itself. It was a little easier for me than for my partner, because I had been dancing for a long time. But according to the script of the film, this is exactly how everything should be: I am an experienced teacher, and she is a student who simply loves music and moving to the rhythm. I had to be professional and precise, and she had to be a little clumsy and naive.”
The romantic story brought success to everyone, from the filmmakers to the leading actors and the composers who wrote the main soundtrack, which, by the way, received a music award. “The last scene of our final dance is a separate and most interesting story. It was filmed at the very beginning, almost during screen tests, but it turned out to be the most dynamic, which is why the audience saw it in the film not re-shot, but original.”
The film "Ghost" with Patrick Swayze received no less affection from the audience than "Dirty Dancing". “The cast of Ghost was great and the story was even better. We won two Oscars, and filming with such professionals as Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg was a special honor for me. By the way, Whoopi’s presence in the film was in question, but my wild sympathy for this actress won!”
Patrick Swayze photo #4
The romantic drama brought viewers to tears so much that in Mexico, before entering the cinemas, all spectators were given sealed paper envelopes containing handkerchiefs! Another interesting fact was that Bruce Willis, who was Demi Moore’s husband at that time, was originally invited to play the role played by Patrick Swayze. But the actor refused, because he decided that a film of such content was simply bound to fail at the box office.
After a series of successful film works, Patrick Swayze's songs are also released. “A talented person is talented in everything. I decided that I tried dancing and acting, now I need to sing.”
Actor Patrick Swayze could still have starred in more than one successful film if not for the misfortune that overtook him in 2008. It was then that the celebrity’s attending physician reported a terrible disease, pancreatic cancer, which was incurable in Patrick’s case. This was the cause of Patrick Swayze's death. “I know that I will die soon, because the days are counting, but I hope and blindly believe that I will live for at least another five years.” His plans for life were grandiose: from writing memoirs, together with his beloved wife, to filming in new films. Pneumonia only fueled the actor’s untimely death.
He was a favorite of the public, it’s not for nothing that “Dirty Dancing” was remade in 2014, and one of the roles was again played by the inimitable Swayze. His death was a blow to many fans, but it helped him become a kind of deity in the faces of those same fans, at a maximum, and film critics, at a minimum.
Video trailer for the film with Patrick Swayze “Dirty Dancing”
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Personal life of Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze met his beloved within the walls of a ballet school. Her name was Lisa Neem. On June 12, 1975, the lovers got married. Since then they have not parted, Lisa was always there and supported her husband in everything. She was his closest friend. Patrick admitted to reporters: “I am an atypical actor. I have been married to the same woman for over thirty years and have never regretted it.” A month before their 33rd wedding anniversary, Patrick asked Lisa to take their marriage vows a second time. It happened on the lawn in front of their house. Photo by Patrick Swayze: Rex Features/Fotobank.ru
