“People don’t identify with victims. They identify with people who have the world come down on their heads and who fight to survive.”—Patrick Swayze, explaining to a reporter how his character in the Civil War miniseries North and South evolved, quoted in Anita Gates, “Patrick Swayze, Actor With Physical Grace, Is Dead at 57,” The New York Times, September 15, 2009
It is doubtful whether Patrick Swayze (1952-2009) will be remembered as an actor who could transform himself into any character a la Robert DeNiro or Sean Penn.
What he represented was accomplishment enough: a man utterly dedicated to craft and family (married to the same woman since 1975—an extraordinary feat in Hollywood), so much so that he did not let disappointment (a dancing career was hampered by a school football injury), critical dismissal, or bad health interfere. He put in an honest day’s work, without ego or neurosis. (I like his explanation for why he bought a ranch: “Your horses don’t lie to you.”)
I would also argue, the Times headline notwithstanding, that he was blessed with far more than “physical grace.”
It is doubtful whether Patrick Swayze (1952-2009) will be remembered as an actor who could transform himself into any character a la Robert DeNiro or Sean Penn.
What he represented was accomplishment enough: a man utterly dedicated to craft and family (married to the same woman since 1975—an extraordinary feat in Hollywood), so much so that he did not let disappointment (a dancing career was hampered by a school football injury), critical dismissal, or bad health interfere. He put in an honest day’s work, without ego or neurosis. (I like his explanation for why he bought a ranch: “Your horses don’t lie to you.”)
I would also argue, the Times headline notwithstanding, that he was blessed with far more than “physical grace.”
By the end of his wrenching, 20-month struggle with pancreatic cancer, Swayze had won a whole new group of admirers beyond his core of Dirty Dancing and Ghost fans because of a Hemingwayesque grace under pressure. He completed a season on the A&E drama series The Beast amid grueling treatment, but sustained by his good humor (he styled himself “the miracle dude”), unpretentiousness, and love from family, colleagues and fans.
The world came down on his head in a way few of us can ever understand. But he understood that the important thing was to rise to your feet again.
May your ghost find rest, Patrick. Thanks for your example.
The world came down on his head in a way few of us can ever understand. But he understood that the important thing was to rise to your feet again.
May your ghost find rest, Patrick. Thanks for your example.
Well put Mike!
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