Patrick Swayze, the man with the hungry eyes, was taught from a young age to strive for perfection in each performance. From meeting his future wife at his mother's studio to winning audiences' hearts in Dirty Dancing and Ghost, dance enveloped many of the milestones in his life.
Read on to find out where this early training came from, how his mother accidentally acted as a matchmaker and discover more about his father who was the "rock" of the family.
© Getty ImagesPatrick and his siblings were all guided towards a creative career
Dancing through life
The Swayze family all found success working in the arts as dancers, actors or a combination of the two. Patrick opened up about "growing up Swayze" in his memoir.
He summarised the experience as "an almost manic drive to be the best, do the most, and lead the pack in whatever we attempted".
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyPatrick Swayze was a Hollywood heartthrob throughout the '80s and '90s
Career on screen
Patrick wasn't just an accomplished performer in the studio but also made a name for himself on the big screen with roles in One Last Dance opposite wife Lisa and Dirty Dancing with Jennifer Grey.
He also appeared in The Outsiders (1983), Ghost (1990), Road House (1989) and Donnie Darko (2001).
© Getty ImagesLisa and Patrick met at his mother's dance studio
Musical meet-cute
Lisa Niemi met Patrick when they were both still in their teens at Swayze's mother's dance studio in Texas. The couple tied the knot in 1975, five years after they first met.
They kept things lowkey for the ceremony, which took place on 12 June, and held a reception at the dance studio where their story began.
© Getty ImagesPatsy Swayze was a prominent dance instructor in her home town of Houston
Dance instructor Patsy Swayze
Yvonne Helen Karnes, known as 'Patsy', was born 7 February 1927. At just 10 years old, she was hit by a car and enrolled in dance classes as therapy, going on to train in ballet and jazz.
She founded the Houston Jazz Ballet Company, taught dance at the University of Houston and ran her own Houston studio. Patsy choreographed 1980 film Urban Cowboy and is also credited on films like Liar's Moon and One Last Dance.
© Getty ImagesPatrick was around 30 years old when his father passed following a heart attack
Dependable engineer Jesse Swayze
Golden Gloves boxer-turned-mechanical engineer Jesse Wayne Swayze met Patsy while she was in high school. Patrick spoke warmly about his father in his memoir The Time of my Life, describing him as the rock [his] family was built on”.
He added his father was: “A steady and stable presence in our lives. In some ways we were nurtured more by my father than by my mother.”
© Getty ImagesPatrick's mother Patsy passed four years after the actor
A legacy carried forward
Patrick's father died at the age of 57 in 1982 following a heart attack, while the actor passed in 2009 after a fight against pancreatic cancer. His mother died four years later in 2013 from complications following a stroke.
Lisa Niemi, Patrick's wife of 34 years (who has since found love again, marrying jeweler Albert DePrisco in 2014), regularly campaigns in support of charities focused on combating pancreatic cancer
