Today is normally Tip Tuesday and yet it’s hard when one of the icons of my generation has left us. So many of us grew up with Patrick Swayze and delighted in his many films. He played alpha heroes in so many of them. Strong. Conflicted. A loner. And yet like the alpha hero prototype, he was able to find happiness when he encountered a woman strong enough to stand by his side.
He seemed to be that way in real life as well. Strong. Compassionate. He had a life mate – his wife – who was by his side as in the picture I’ve chosen. I’ll remember him as a hero from his movies and his fight against cancer.
My first encounter with Patrick was in RED DAWN. Every time he came on screen my eyes pulled away to him. Then came NORTH AND SOUTH and I was a goner.
Like many, though, it was DIRTY DANCING that cemented my fandom. Who couldn’t love Johnny. “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” Standing up for his love. Sigh . . .
A few years ago I went with my daughter to see DIRTY DANCING HAVANA NIGHTS. When Swayze came on the screen, the crowd in the theatre cheered and began to clap. A testimony to his enduring place in people’s hearts.
Sadly, he is gone but he will be long remembered by his many fans and by the generations to come who will continue to delight in his films.