Patrick Swayze

About

Patrick Wayne Swayze (August 18, 1952 - September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter from Houston, Texas. He broke through as dance instructor Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing (1987) and went on to star in Ghost (1990) and Point Break (1991), earning three Golden Globe nominations across his career. Beyond acting, he co-wrote and recorded 'She's Like the Wind' for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack - a song that hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997 and died of pancreatic cancer in 2009 at age 57.

Born:: 18 August 1952 (57 years)
Died:: 14 September 2009
Place of birth:: Houston, Texas, USA

Billboard Hot 100 peak - 'She's Like the Wind'

Billboard Adult Contemporary chart peak - 'She's Like the Wind'

30M+

Dirty Dancing soundtrack copies sold worldwide

Golden Globe nominations

What's new

2025-06
Stacy Widelitz, co-writer of Swayze's signature song 'She's Like the Wind', died on June 17, 2025, aged 69, keeping Swayze's musical legacy in the news.
2026-02
Swayze's stripped-back 1988 Dutch TV performance of 'She's Like the Wind' continued to attract renewed attention online in early 2026.
2024-07
A Vice article revisited Swayze's unreleased music recordings, highlighting his passion for songwriting beyond his one charting single.

Tracks

She's Like the WindCo-written with Stacy Widelitz; from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack (1987); peaked at #3 on Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Adult Contemporary

Raising Heaven (In Hell Tonight)From the Road House soundtrack (1989), recorded with Larry Gatlin

Dirty Dancing: Original SoundtrackAlbum featuring Swayze's 'She's Like the Wind'; sold 30M+ copies worldwide, spent 18 weeks at #1 on Billboard 200