Dirty Dancer (Patrick Swayze)

This person died in 2009 at age 57. His father was an engineer and a rodeo cowboy. He was a student athlete, and his dancing career was hampered by a severe football injury. In the 1970s he moved from Houston to New York to study dance, becoming a member of Eliot Feld Ballet. He was determined not to be typecast, and said in a 1989 interview, “The only plan I have is that every time people think they have me pegged, I’m going to come out of left field and do something unexpected.” The coming-of-age film “Dirty Dancing” established him as a romantic leading man. His other starring roles include “Roadhouse”, “Ghost”, and “Point Break”. Today’s dead celebrity biography is Patrick Swayze. Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Megan Palmer. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 57 Cool Hand Dylan (Luke Perry) and Episode 51 Goofball Stud (Bill Paxton). LINKS: Transcript of this episode New York Times Obituary for Patrick Swayze Dead or Alive quiz game SNL Chippendales sketch with Swayze and Chris Farley “Nobody wins a fight” and “Pain don’t hurt” scene from Roadhouse Barbara Walters interview with Patrick in 2009 How Patrick Swayze Convinced Whoopi Goldberg to be in ‘Ghost’ article Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter Famous & Gravy official website