Patrick Swayze Dead At 57.

Patrick Swayze, or "Johnny" the dance instructor from the movie "Dirty Dancing," heartthrob to generations of young girls, has reportedly died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 57. The theme song from "Dirty Dancing" was "I had the time of my life." I hope he had a good time while he was here. It's hard to imagine he would not be here, because he was such a vibrant and physical presence on the screen.



Swayze studied dance and gymnastics in his youth, then moved to New York City from Texas to pursue dancing. He appeared on Broadway in Grease, had roles in several television series, and danced in some Disney productions.

His breakthrough movie role, for which he will forever be remembered, was as the dance instructor Johnny in the movie "Dirty Dancing," which also starred Jennifer Grey as the delightful young girl on the verge of becoming a woman, and the always-amazing Jerry Orbach. "Dirty Dancing" became a national and international success, continues to be shown around the world, has sold over a million copies and earned over Three Hundred Million Dollars.

Swayze also had a lead role in the movie "Ghost," with Demi Moore, another very successful movie. He acted in many additional movies, on TV, on Broadway and in London theatre, and was named by People magazine in 1991 as the Sexiest Man Alive. Gone too soon.