Goodbye Patrick Swayze

by Taylor Berry

Patrick Swayze, heartthrob of my youth. I think every girl wanted him in Dirty Dancing when he danced with Jennifer Grey to “Hungry Eyes”, or, for that matter, when he dry-humped on the dance floor with the rest of the resort staff. Then there was the red-hot pottery scene in Ghost, which prompted one of my friends to name her first vibrator Swayze.

Despite being a bit typecast in sexy shirtless roles for a while, we remember Swayze for other bold movie roles as well, for example, his role as Darrel in Coppola’s The Outsiders (stay gold, Ponyboy) and as a pedophile and motivational speaker (…) in Donnie Darko. I also remember him fondly for his hilarious SNL skit with Chris Farley, where the two compete for the newest opening at Chippendales. Swayze wins, but only because his body is “much, much better.”

Swayze actually started out as a dancer before becoming a Hollywood star. He also bred Arabian stallions on his ranches and had his pilot’s license–talk about well-rounded. He was married to Lisa Niemi from 1975 until his death, which strikes me as very sweet, since their marriage lasted through his meteoric rise to fame.

Patrick Swayze passed away from complications of pancreatic cancer at the young age of 57, which he admits probably had something to do with his chain smoking.

Tonight, I curl up with the Swayze classics and nurse my broken heart.