Patrick Swayze LifeStory

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Patrick Swayze's lifestory

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Birth
When: 18 August 1952
Where: Houston, Texas, UNITED STATES
Born Patrick Wayne Swayze on August 18th, 1952, in Houston, Texas. Swayze and his four siblings were raised by their parents Patsy and Jesse Swayze. Swayze's mother, director of the Houston Jazz Ballet Company, introduced her son to dance at an early age.


Childhood
When: 1959
Where: UNITED STATES
While still in grade school, 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 â€” 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.


Marriage
When: 12 June 1975
Where: UNITED STATES
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, where the couple trained with the Harkness and Joffrey Ballet companies. Swayze and Niemi were married in 1975.


Early Career
When: from 1976 to 1978
Where: UNITED STATES
Having renewed his dedication to ballet, Swayze was soon hired as a principal dancer with the Eliot Feld Ballet Company. His success was cut short when an old football injury required that he undergo knee surgery. The operation, coupled with the infection that followed, caused Swayze to leave the prestigious Feld Company. 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.


Debut film role
When: 1979
Where: UNITED STATES
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.


Carreer change
When: from 1981 to 1984
Where: UNITED STATES
Gains recognition in the movie industry after appearing in The Outsiders and Red Dawn. In 1981, Swayze added television to his repertoire with a notable portrayal of a leukemia patient on the series MAS*H.


North and South
When: 1985
Where: UNITED STATES
Becomes an international television star portraying Orry Main in the $50 million (U.S.), 24-hour miniseries North And South and North And South II.


Dirty Dancing
When: 1987
Where: WORLDWIDE
Dances his way to a surprise box office hit in the low-budget movie Dirty Dancing. His song "She's Like the Wind" appears on the movie's soundtrack, it eventually reaches #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Dirty Dancing also allowed Swayze to pursue a singing career. Inspired by his relationship with his wife, Lisa, Swayze penned the song "She's Like the Wind" for the film's soundtrack. "I had been meeting girls with names like Mimi and Angel. And for a long time I didn't feel like I deserved her," Swayze told People magazine. "I just felt at that time that I'm very, very lucky to have a woman who thinks I hung the moon." The song resonated with music fans, and the single catapulted to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.


Stars in Ghost
When: from 1989 to 1990
Where: UNITED STATES
In 1989, Swayze starred in two action features, Road House and Next of Kin, which both enjoyed modest success at the box office. A year later, he fought for and won the lead role in Jerry Zucker's romantic drama Ghost (1990). The film, which co-starred Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, revived Swayze's struggling career. Ghost grossed over $200 million and earned Swayze a second Golden Globe nomination.


Appearance on Saturday Night Live
When: 1990
Where: UNITED STATES
Memorable appearance on Saturday Night Live when he appears in a skit as a dancer auditioning for Chippendales and competes with Chris Farley in a hilarious dance-off.


Got hobby
When: 1990
Where: UNITED STATES
After Lisa had a miscarriage in 1990, the couple gave up on having children. Instead, they invested their time and love on their ranch full of dogs, horses, and cattle. "We're a team," Swayze said of he and his wife. "A relationship survives because of keeping the friendship alive and learning how to fall in love over and over again and never taking the other person for granted and seeing things in a new light with new eyes. We're big believers in, arguments are okay as long as it's not about your ego, but it's about a mutual goalâ€”trying to create something special."


Stars in Point Break with Keanu Reeves
When: 1991
Where: WORLDWIDE
As Swayze's relationship with his wife grew stronger, his career also continued to shine when he adorned the cover of People magazine as "The Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991. 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.


Award
When: from 1995 to 1996
Where: WORLDWIDE
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.


Messing up
When: from 1997 to 1998
Where: UNITED STATES
In 1997, Swayze broke his right leg in a horse-riding accident while filming Letters From a Killer (1998). In the late 1990s, a serious drinking problem and several unsuccesful films severely hampered the actor's career. He admitted himself into a rehab clinic, after which he and his wife Lisa retreated to their ranch in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in Texas.


Stars in Letters
When: 1998
Where: UNITED STATES
Stars in Letters from a Killer, about a man who is falsely convicted of the murder of his wife. Filming on the movie was halted for two months due to serious injuries suffered by Swayze when he fell off his horse and hit a tree. Has difficulties resuming his career after these injuries.


New roles in films
When: from 2000 to 2004
Where: WORLDWIDE
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. He 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).


Pancreatic cancer
When: January 2008
Where: UNITED STATES
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Swayze's representative confirms in March that the actor is battling cancer and has been undergoing treatment.


Marriage
When: May 2008
Where: UNITED STATES
Renews marriage vows with Niemi.


ABC interview with Barbara Walters
When: 07 January 2009
Where: WORLDWIDE
Expresses his feelings about his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in an ABC interview with Barbara Walters, "You can bet that I'm going through hell. And I've only seen the beginning of it. There's a lot of fear here. There's a lot of stuff going on. Yeah, I'm scared. Yeah, I'm angry. Yeah, I'm [asking] why me. Yeah, I'm all this stuff."


Sickness
When: 09 January 2009
Where: UNITED STATES
People Magazine reports that Swayze had checked into the hospital for treatment of pneumonia. One week later, on January 16, Swayze's representative reports that he had been released from hospital and was resting at his home after receiving treatment for pneumonia.


The Beast premiere
When: 15 January 2009
Where: WORLDWIDE
Premiere of A&E TV series, The Beast, in which he plays a veteran FBI agent. Owing to a prolonged decline in health, he was unable to promote the series, and the show was cancelled later that year.


Address to the U.S. Congress
When: February 2009
Where: UNITED STATES
Takes his cancer battle to the U.S. Congress asking them to "vote for the maximum funding to let the National Institutes of Health fight cancer and other life-threatening illnesses."


Fighting cancer
When: July 2009
Where: WORLDWIDE
Announces that he would "cowboy up" and fight his cancer. His rep tells Entertainment Weekly that "he has gained weight and he continues to do well while in treatment."


The Time of My Life
When: 29 September 2009
Where: WORLDWIDE
The Time of My Life, memoir with wife Niemi is released.

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