EUR This N That | Urban Black News Blog

Patrick Swayze (August 18, 1952 - September 14, 2009)

We must take a moment to say farewell to Patrick Swayze.  He fought long and hard, but he lost his fight with pancreatic cancer yesterday.

He was only 57 years old.  It’s been hard to think of him as unhealthy when the thing he’s well known for is his strength, energy, and DIRTY DANCING.

He was a “walking tall” type in Road House and well, it’s just hard to see him go. 

Not only was he a good actor, but he was a stand-up human being who cared about human rights around the globe.  After his movie City of Joy, and having his experiences in Calcutta, he was changed.  He was quoted as saying once:

“I believe in a higher power. I’ve studied Eastern philosophies, and I’ve studied the Koran. We’ve devalued everything worth believing in. Now we’re tearing into religion. A line should be drawn. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and The Da Vinci Code (2006) borders on that. I was glued to the book, but afterwards I thought, ‘Oh my Lord, now we’re tearing into God and our faith’.  Are we going to be turning into a reality show, too? I certainly hope not.”

Also, the Internet Movie Database shares this quote from Swayze after he cleaned up his alcoholism:

“I made a conscious decision to break away from big films when I got alcohol out of my life. I had been sucked into the blockbuster, box-office mentality and it was destroying my sense of purpose in life. The loneliness of fame was messing with my head. Once you’ve been famous for a while and told your story, it can sound like a lie. You don’t know what’s true. It sounds like an article someone wrote rather than the essence of who you are.”

The L.A. Times offers a good biography for him here.

We’ll miss you Mr. Swayze.  Rest in peace.

-J.C. Brooks