Actor remembered as “a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace”
Tributes are pouring in for Patrick Swayze following the performer’s death at age 57 after an odds-defying battle with pancreatic cancer. Demi Moore, who played Swayze’s fiancée in Ghost, led the tributes on Twitter, tweeting: “Patrick you are loved by so many and your light will forever shine in all of our lives.” Whoopi Goldberg, who credits the actor with assisting her win for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, said: “Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can’t ever repay. I believe in Ghost‘s message, so he’ll always be near.” Jennifer Grey, who played Swayze’s romantic partner Frances “Baby” Houseman in Dirty Dancing, described her co-star as “a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace.” Even after his diagnosis in January 2008, Swayze refused to allow his illness to force him from the limelight, filming a memoir with his wife, Lisa Niemi, and shooting The Beast, a television drama series in which he played an undercover FBI agent.