Remembering Patrick Swayze (1952-2009)

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1970

Born Aug. 18, 1952, Patrick Swayze grew up in Houston, Texas. During his time at Waltrip High School (pictured here in his yearbook), he acted in school plays and took classical ballet classes. His mother, Patricia, was a dance instructor.

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1983

Swayze's first major movie was The Outsiders, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He played an older brother from the wrong side of the tracks, and it also became the breakout film for other big-name stars, including Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise and Ralph Macchio.

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1984

The actor got a leading role in another ensemble film, Red Dawn. Alongside Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, Brad Savage and a pre-Dirty Dancing Jennifer Grey, Swayze starred in the war film about a group of American high school students who fight back against an invasion by the Soviet Union.

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1986

As Swayze rose to fame, he frequented Hollywood parties with other up-and-coming stars. At one fashion magazine party in NYC on May 13, he spent time talking up then-20-year-old Brooke Shields.

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1987

Swayze is best known for his role as Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing, co-starring Jennifer Grey. From his iconic line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," to the Academy Award-winning song, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," the legacy of the film has lived on in pop culture.

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1988

After the star (here, in a portrait taken in January) first sported his fluffy locks, it quickly became a trademark '80s hairstyle.

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1989

He and his wife, actress Lisa Niemi, attended the 61st Annual Academy Awards on March 29 in L.A. The pair first met in 1970 -- she was taking dance lessons from his mother -- and wed five years later.

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1989

The happy couple took a trip to London and went to Le Caprice restaurant on June 5.

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1990

In addition to dancing, Swayze could also sing: He performed "She's Like the Wind" for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. 

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1990

Swayze starred opposite Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg in the romantic fantasy flick, Ghost. He played Sam Wheat, who comes back as a ghost after being killed to save his girlfriend. The pottery scene from the movie has often been voted one of the best movie love scenes of all time.

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1990

The star went up against Chris Farley in a Saturday Night Live sketch about two "hunks" competing in a dance-off competition for one open spot with the Chippendales. Swayze's striptease aired Oct. 1990, when he hosted the show.

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1991

Although not a critical success, Point Break -- an action film costarring Keanu Reeves -- was a box-office hit and gathered a cult following over the years. Swayze played Bodhi, a leader of a gang of surfers suspected of robbing banks.

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1995

Musically gifted, Swayze often played the guitar.

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1995

Swayze had portrayed plenty of "leading man" roles, but with To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar, he became a leading lady. Alongside John Leguizamo And Wesley Snipes, he played a drag queen who travels cross-country until getting stranded in a small town.

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1997

Swayze posed with his plaque on Hollywood Blvd. after being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Aug. 18.

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1997

The actor reunited with his Dirty Dancing costar, Grey, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the film on Aug. 20. "I wish him all my love, and I have great faith that he is a fighter, and he will fight this," Grey told Us after hearing about his cancer diagnosis.

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2002

Swayze showcased his famous smile while being photographed at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills on Jan. 10.

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2004

Swayze's most famous movie inspired a prequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and a stage version. Swayze, who celebrated the movie's premiere with lead actor Diego Luna in Hollywood on Feb. 23, had a cameo as a dance class instructor.

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2005

The actor was all smiles with Niemi after winning the Independent Career Achievement Award on July 27 in Las Vegas.

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2005

Swayze signed his autograph on movie posters at the Las Vegas premiere of One Last Dance -- costarring his wife -- on Nov. 10.

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2005

In an unlikely turn, the actor showed new versatility in the British black comedy film, Keeping Mum. He played a golf instructor who had an affair with his married student, Kristin Scott Thomas.

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2006

The star threw some punches with legendary boxer Muhammad Ali at his Celebrity Fight Night XII on March 18.

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2006

He and Niemi attended a fan screening of Mission: Impossible III on May 4.

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2006

The movie star got out from in front of the camera when he played Nathan Detroit in a West End production of Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre in London. He starred in the musical from July to November. His previous appearances on Broadway included Goodtime Charley in 1975 and Chicago in 2003

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2007

The couple -- then-married for 32 years -- spoke onstage during the 9th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards in Beverly Hills on Feb. 17.

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2007

Swayze sang to the crowd at a performance by Prince at the Roosevelt Hotel on June 23 in Hollywood.

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2007

The star hobnobbed with other celebrities -- including Martin Short and Pamela Anderson -- at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino's grand opening weekend on Nov. 16 in Las Vegas.

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2008

Only a few months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the actor took in a Lakers game on May 23 in L.A. "Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far," his physician, Dr. George Fisher, said in March, after the New York Post report

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2008

Swayze attended the Stand Up to Cancer fundraising telethon on Sept. 5 in Hollywood. The event raised more than $100 million for research. "I dream of a future with a long, healthy life, a life not lived in the shadow of cancer but in the light," he said before receiving a standing ovation.

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2008

Swayze finished filming his new series, A&E's The Beast, in late November without missing more than two days of work for chemotherapy treatments. He hit up Chicago hotspot Underground to celebrate with his wife and brother, Don, on Nov. 23.

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2009

In his first television interview since his diagnosis, the star spoke to Barbara Walters for her ABC special, Patrick Swayze: The Truth, which aired Jan. 7. "I'd say five years is pretty wishful thinking," he said in December. "Two years seems likely if you're going to believe statistics."

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2009

The Beast, in which the actor portrays an unorthodox FBI veteran who takes on a rookie partner, debuted Jan. 15.

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2009

A week after he was released from the hospital after checking in with pneumonia, he announced that he will write a memoir and was in the process of meeting with publishers. Swayze (here, signing autographs at a Borders Bookstore in NYC on Aug. 24, 2005) also welcomed home a new pet, his dog Kumasai.

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2009

After the National Enquirer reported he was nearing the end of his life, Swayze asserted "there are so many positive things going on in my life right now. I've started a new chemotherapy and, once again, I am one of the lucky ones with pancreatic cancer that is responding well to the treatment."