Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze was a Texas-born movie actor whose background in ballet and gymnastics gave him a physique well-suited for his roles as hunky love interest or macho action film hero. His early roles as the only slightly older patriarchal figure of his onscreen teenage families in films like "The Outsiders" (1983) and "Red Dawn" (1984) helped put the heartthrob on the map and on the cover of many a Tiger Beat fan magazine in the early 1980s. But it was only a few years before the teen became a man and it was in these more adult roles that the actor made his mark. He achieved even greater heights of stardom with the romantic blockbusters "Dirty Dancing" (1987) and "Ghost" (1990). But it was his battle against pancreatic cancer for almost two years that would inspire the public and galvanize the actor to bravely give his final performance on A&E's dark drama series, "The Beast." In a year unparalleled in Hollywood loss, Swayze would pass away on Sept. 14, 2009.