Patrick Swayze was born in 1952 in Texas. From an early age, his father encouraged him to develop a career in American football. The future star, however, followed the urging of his mother, Patsy Swayze, a choreographer known in Houston as “the first lady of dance and theater”. It was she who persuaded her son to enroll in violin lessons and her dance and acting classes.
Supported by his relatives, Patrick could not count on the understanding of his friends from the yard. The boy was often ridiculed, he got into snarls, which often ended in fights. Not all the pursuers knew that apart from ballet, Swayze also trains martial arts. The fights usually ended with his victory.
Patrick was eighteen when he made his stage debut, dancing the part of Prince in love with Snow White. Soon, however, it turned out that performing in Houston was not enough for the ambitious young man and Swayze decided to conquer New York. He got into the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School and this was where his adventure with dancing almost ended. He suffered a knee contusion. He even threatened to amputate his leg. Fortunately, after several operations and months of rehabilitation, he managed to regain fitness. Although his dream of a ballet career turned to dust, he did not give up and began to focus on acting.
He got his first role in the comedy “Skatetown” in 1979. After this performance Francis Ford Coppola he invited the young actor to take part in the famous “Outcasts”. The actor was getting better at his new profession. He played minor and major roles in several productions a year. In 1984, he appeared in the cult series today “North South”which during its first broadcast in the US attracted almost 40 million viewers.
International popularity came with the role of the unforgettable Johnny Castle with “Dirty Dancing”. Three years later, the actor strengthened his position as a Hollywood lover with his performance in “Believe in ghost”. The next few films made him a real star.
Unfortunately, fame has its dark side. “All that buzz around me made me cynical and started drinking,” recalled the actor years later. Swayze couldn’t accept the fact that for most, he is just a handsome face, not a serious actor. Over time, suggestions for interesting roles stopped coming to him. In addition, there was talk of the actor’s passion for alcohol, which was to affect his work. Already during the filming of the series “North-South” this problem was visible.
An actress partnering with him on the screen Kirstie Alley stated he was coming to the set drunk. Often for this reason, various incidents were to take place. She also added that Swayze was cheating on his wife. As if that was not enough, she maintained that the actor and she were devastatingly in love with each other, but never slept with each other.
The actor’s support from his beloved wife saved the actor from going to the bottom. The couple met when 18-year-old Swayze hired an ice rink job. There he met Lisa Niemi, with whom he fell in love at first sight. The 15-year-old reciprocated him, but they had to wait a little longer for approval from the family. They married in 1975, five years after their first meeting. They were married for 34 years.
In 2008, the world spread the news that a popular actor was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Swayze struggled with the disease, underwent surgery, but treatment did not bring improvement. “For me, victory is not giving up. No matter what falls on me, I can face it and I can move forward,” said Patrick Swayze when he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The actor underwent several surgeries and several chemistry sessions.
The disease devastated the actor’s body week after week. In the last months of his life, he did not look like himself. At the end of August 2009, he stopped taking chemotherapy. His relatives knew that he had a few days to live. “Patrick said his last words on Friday. And my last words were ‘I love you’ and so were his,” Lisa recalled. Patrick Swayze died on September 14. His wife held his hand until the end.
After the actor’s death, unpleasant facts began to emerge. It was loud about the alleged abuse by Swayze’s wife. The actor’s friend confessed in the press that Niemi isolated Patrick from her relatives and was morally jealous of him. RadarOnline also quoted Charlotte Stevens, who claimed she had advised him on divorce in the past when she found out about Niemi’s continual betrayals. According to an anonymous friend of the couple, Niemi often beat her weakened husband – in the course of almost two years of fighting pancreatic cancer, Swayze lost half the weight.
Lisa Niemi of course denied this information. Not only that, she revealed that it was her husband’s mother who abused him when he was a child. The woman was to be very demanding and strict with her son. The actor’s nightmare ended when his father stood up for him. He reportedly told Yvonne that if he hit him again, he would divorce her.