The Time of My Life

The book is a tribute to Patrick Swayze written by him just before his death from pancreatic cancer at the age fifty-seven.  I have checked out many of his DVDs since I have been reading this book and enjoyed how his talent progresse.  He really was a gifted actor, singer and dancer on the stage, on film and in television.  His wife was actress, director, producer, writer and dancer Lisa Niemi.  Patrick Swazye began dancing in his mother's studio in Huston, Texas in the 1960s.  He traveled across the country with Disney on Parade in the early 1970s -- he played Prince Charming in the dance troupe.  Later he moved to New York with his girlfriend Lisa Niemi in 1974 where they both dreamed of becoming top-flight ballet dancers.  Soon they found themselves and in Los Angeles where Patrick found work as a young actor in the movie "Skatetown USA" that featured his skating and dancing abilities.  His first important break came with Francis Ford Coppola's film "The Outsiders".  The movie featured some up-and-coming actors including Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe and a very young Tom Cruise.  Patrick Swazye and Lisa Niemi lived on a ranch twenty miles outside Hollywood.  They later bought a larger ranch in New Mexico where they became involved in conservation and preservation.  Together they raised horses and owned many animals.  Patrick Swazye did most of his own stunts and often sustained some major injuries.  He played Orry Main in "North and South", a made-for-television series that ran for ten episodes.  Patrick Swazye's stardom came from movies "Dirty Dancing" with Jennifer Grey and "Ghost" with Demi Moore.  He co-wrote the song "She's Like the Wind" that was used in the soundtrack for "Dirty Dancing".  The song was at the top of the music charts for eighteen weeks.  As he was filming the television series "The Beast" it was discovered that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  He was able to continue filming as he was undergoing chemotherapy and he completed the first season before his demise.