Patrick Swayze – actor, dancer, singer, cockney rhyming slang mainstay – has died of pancreatic cancer. He was 57.
If you’re like us, you were probably expecting to read that last sentence 20 months ago. That’s when Patrick Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and the rumours about him only having weeks to live emerged. It’s a testament to Patrick Swayze’s strength of mind that he not only ended up clinging on for over a year and a half, but that he also continued to work painkiller-free for much of it.
It’s a sad day, but at least Point Break will be on TV soon.
News of Patrick Swayze’s death doesn’t come as a surprise – not least because every other celebrity on the face of the Earth has dropped dead since about May – but it’s still a shock. Throughout his battle with pancreatic cancer, from his diagnosis to his frank interviews on the subject, Patrick Swayze gave the impression that he was a survivor. He may have read his own obituary several times over, but that wasn’t going to get to him.
Swayze’s outright defiance and refusal to roll over in the last few months of his life – he even made a television series during his cancer treatment, refusing painkillers for the duration – was an inspiration. And now he’s dead. A statement released by Patrick Swayze’s publicist last night simply read:
“Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months.”
But although he’s gone, Patrick Swayze won’t be forgotten. Not so much for the body of work he left behind – there can’t be too many people rushing to watch Letters From A Killer in tribute this morning – but because of the spirit of determination he embodied. Every day that he outlasted his initial five-week prognosis was a giant victory, and every tiny hurdle he crossed in the meantime – beating pneumonia and writing his memoirs – felt like he was triumphantly kicking fate in the teeth.
So Patrick Swayze may be gone, but he’ll always be with us. That goes double for Whoopi Goldberg who, if history has any say in the matter, he’ll soon be possessing in a harebrained attempt to woo Demi Moore from beyond the grave.
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Tom J says
This is very sad news. He will always be remembered for his powerhouse performances in… umm… well there was that one with Demi Moore wasn’t there… and… well anyway, RIP Patrick.
magnetite says
“Nobody puts Swayze in a corner”…unless of course, they’re dusting the mantel and the corner is the only place that his urn won’t be knocked over by the Black Dog; or by the manly fighting shenanigans in the Roadhouse in which his surviving peers must inexplicably, but almost surely, live.
Seriously R.I.P. Swizzle. Give Keith Floyd a punch and a pottery-inspired spoon-cuddle from me, will you?
Bobby EWing says
I am really surprised that he lasted as long as he did. In these pictures from April he looked like he had only days to live
http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=7312932
In comparison to the pictures there too from days past – it really shows what this horrible disease does to a person. What a shame!
RIP Patrick
halo says
It’s very sad when one of the good guys passes.
He was married to the same lady for 30+ years, you don’t see that very often, let alone in hollywood.
A brilliant dancer, a decent actor, and all around nice guy. Coming from one of the very few who really believed he could beat the cancer.
RIP Patrick you will be missed.