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Dirty Dancing Star Loses Cancer Fight
Posted by Ben on Tuesday 15th September 2009 at 11:33AM
 | Patrick Swayze, star of the cult film Dirty Dancing, lost his battle against pancreatic cancer and passed away on Monday in Los Angeles. Swayze had continued working since being diagnosed with the disease in 2008, filming a TV drama series ‘The Beast’ despite the seriousness of his condition. The son of a choreographer, Swayze was a natural in the role of dance instructor Johnny Castle in the coming of age romance. Dirty Dancing became an international hit in the late 1980s, leading to successful spin-off albums, a 2004 sequel and the hit stage show seen by more than 5 million people worldwide. Shot on a modest budget the film propelled Swayze to stardom and also launched the career of co-star Jennifer Grey. |
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In the 1990s Swayze followed up with another box office hit Ghost, starring opposite Demi Moore. Other films included Point Break, Fatherhood and another cult favourite Donnie Darko. He returned to the stage in 2003 with Chicago and then came to London in 2006, taking the role of Nathan Detroit in the musical Guys and Dolls. Brave Struggle After going public with the illness some reports didn’t give Swayze long to live. In January of this year he was hospitalised with Pneumonia, said to be a result of his chemotherapy treatment. He fought hard and in February urged American Senators to vote for the maximum funding to fight cancer as part of the economic recovery package. | |
West End Tribute “The cast and crew of Dirty Dancing join the loving fans of Patrick Swayze all over the world in shock and sorrow at the loss of a great artist and a courageous man. We are grateful for the inspiration his great spirit has given to us. We send our deepest condolences to his family." Eleanor Bergstein and the Cast and Crew of the Dirty Dancing Stage Production. | |
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