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Patrick
Swayze Dies at 57 of Pancreatic Cancer, Swayze died "with family at
his side" on September 14, 2009, twenty months after being diagnosed.
Swayze was married since 1975 to Niemi, a
fellow dancer who took lessons with his mother; they met when he was 19
and she was 15. A licensed pilot, Niemi would fly her husband from Los
Angeles to Northern California for treatment at Stanford University
Medical Center.
One of the movies that my children enjoyed
watching over and over again was "Tall Tale", released in 1995 which
starred Patrick Swayze as the legendary Pecos Bill. Tall tale was a story about
a young boy that draws inspiration from legendary western characters such as
Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Calamity Jane. In this the boy finds the
strength to fight an evil land baron in the old west who wants to steal his
family's farm and destroy their idyllic community.
Swayze was born in Houston on August 18, 1952,
the son of Jesse Swayze and choreographer Patsy Swayze, whose films include
"Urban Cowboy." His father was a champion rodeo cowboy and his mother
owned a ballet studio.
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