Mr. Swayze made his Broadway debut in the original Broadway run of Grease as a replacement Danny Zuko and later appeared in the short-lived musical Goodtime Charley, which played just over 100 performances at the Palace Theatre in 1975.

It was on the silver screen where Mr. Swayze, with his rugged good looks and no-nonsense attitude, would find fame and fortune. After roles in such films as "The Outsiders," "Red Dawn" and "Youngblood," Mr. Swayze's breakthrough performance came in the 1987 film "Dirty Dancing," which cast him as Johnny Castle. The performance earned the actor his first of three Golden Globe nominations. Mr. Swayze was also nominated for his work in "Ghost" (1990) and "To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" (1995).

Among the actor's numerous other film credits are "Black Dog," "Letters from a Killer," "Forever Lulu," "Green Dragon," "Donnie Darko," "Waking Up in Reno," "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights," "George and the Dragon," "King Solomon's Mines," "Keeping Mum" and "Jump."

Mr. Swayze would return to Broadway one final time. In 2003 he stepped into the role of slick lawyer Billy Flynn in the New York production of the long-running, Tony-winning revival of the Kander and Ebb musical Chicago. Although Chicago was Swayze's last Broadway outing, he did make his West End debut a few years later when he joined the Michael Grandage-directed revival of Guys and Dolls in 2006 in the role of Nathan Detroit.

Patrick Swayze was born in Houston, TX, Aug. 18, 1952, the son of choreographer Patsy Swayze and Jesse Wayne Swayze. His mother owned a dance school that her son would attend. It was at the school that Mr. Swayze met actress/dancer Lisa Niemi in 1975. The couple were later married and remained together throughout his celebrated career and his battle with cancer. They were working on a memoir. Mr. Swayze was the star of the recent TV series "The Beast."