Patrick Swayze: Life in Pictures

The Swayze effect

Patrick Wayne Swayze, a Houston native, is a dancer, actor, singer, songwriter and all-around Renaissance man. Swayze the actor is best known for his roles in movies like "Dirty Dancing" as the romantic leading man, though he had his forays into action and tough-guy parts. People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive (in 1991) was one of films' biggest names after a string of late-1980s, early 1990s hits.