His biggest films were Dirty Dancing and Ghost. He was known as the gentleman cowboy, but Patrick Swayze passed away at the age of just 57.
Swayze’s big break came in 1987 with the film Dirty Dancing. It was a low-budget film and was almost scrapped at one point. However, it eventually became a big hit that generated $64 million at the US box office and $214 million worldwide. In the film, Swayze played dance instructor Johnny Castle who starts a romance with 17-year-old New Yorker Frances “Baby” Houseman (played by Jennifer Grey). In real life, dance was always important for Swayze. His mother owned a dance studio in Houston (Texas) and he learnt to dance at an early age. Swayze met his future wife, Lisa Niemi, at his mum’s dance studio.