Oh, Sad
Patrick Swayze succumbs to pancreatic cancer
‘Dirty Dancing’ star, 57, battled disease since January 2008
BREAKING NEWS
msnbc.com news services
updated 5:13 p.m. PT, Mon., Sept . 14, 2009
Patrick Swayze has died after a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
Swayze’s publicist Annett Wolf says the 57-year-old “Dirty Dancing” actor died Monday with family at his side. He came forward about his illness last spring, but continued working as he underwent treatments.
It was 1987 when Swayze became a star with his performance in “Dirty Dancing,” a coming-of-age story set in a Catskills resort. The 1990 film “Ghost” cemented his status as a screen favorite.
Swayze played a murdered man trying to communicate with his fiancee through a spirit played by Whoopi Goldberg.
He kept on working even after it was disclosed in March 2008 that he had a particularly deadly form of cancer. He starred in “The Beast,” an A&E drama series, and said he and his wife were working on a memoir.
© 2009 msnbc.com
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28582715/ns/entertainment-celebrities/