A Tribute to Patrick Swayze

I didn’t have to watch any movie other than Dirty Dancing to be hypnotized by Patrick Swayze. In fact, I watched it almost every night for an entire summer in high school.

There was no performance more mesmerizing than Johnny Castle’s final dance at Kellerman’s, when he swept the entire resort off its feet with Baby at his side.

Swayze storms in for the final scene with determination in his eyes. No one can forget the confident strides he took as he approached his true love, who he had left heartbroken without him.

The ever-intimidating father stands up to face him but he isn’t shaken. Chest out, Swayze speaks the most famous line to ever come from a 1980s film.

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” is permanently etched into the minds of women everywhere.

He tosses his black leather jacket aside and the couple takes the stage and stops the show.

When the music begins, we can sense Swayze’s demeanor change. He waltzes to center stage like he owns it and swings and swoops Baby to the beat. Every person who watched wanted to join in with the audience’s hooting.

With that legendary smirk, he pulls out dance moves that put me on the stage with him. It didn’t take long before everyone at the resort was, too.

Only Swayze could start a revolution like the one that took place at Kellerman’s in the summer of ’63.

I always liked to believe he was Johnny Castle, and in a way he was.

Swayze danced his whole life. He met his wife, Neimi, when she took dance lessons from his mother as an adolescent. Unlike typical Hollywood marriages, they had a genuine relationship that lasted until his death in 2009.

She was also the inspiration behind his ballad, “She’s Like the Wind.” The song was first released in the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, and his fans realized their hero was more than the actor they thought they knew.

He wasn’t perfect. At 30, Swayze began to lean on alcohol for emotional support. He sought help years later after his sister committed suicide by drug overdose.

Although alcoholism isn’t typically a positive trait, recovery is. Overcoming the disease makes Swayze all the more admirable.

The dirtier details about his life tend to fade when we think about his performance on the silver screen.

As with most of his admirers, I like to remember Swayze before the cancer consumed his life.

When I first heard about his death, it was a shock. I hadn’t even known he was sick.

I found out with nearly 100 other women during sorority rush. We were watching television in our down time, and Swayze’s young picture flashed on the screen. My mind might have exaggerated the silence I felt in the room when I saw the words “Dead at 57,” but I wasn’t the only person who felt it.

Although the performance debuted more than 25 years ago, the world has yet to see an actor as influential or a dancer as passionate.

I doubt it ever will.