Thoughts on Patrick Swayze...
The news that Patrick Swayze is battling pancreatic cancer is just so sad.
I've been thinking back a lot on an interview I did with the star of "Dirty Dancing," "Ghost" and, of course, "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" nearly four years ago for Orange Coast Magazine. Patrick was promoting a dance movie he made with his wife of 33 years, Lisa Niemi ("One Last Dance") and his first TV mini-series ("King Solomon's Mines") in nearly two decades.
I want to share some of the interview which I think gives some insight into what kind of guy he is.On playing drag queen Vida Boheme in "To Wong Foo" : "It was an opportunity to create a character who was truly an angel. But I thought playing a drag queen was a big ol' lark, and I'd play a big old queen. But in rehearsal when I play-acted it, it didn't work. I realized her job was to be the heart of this movie. {Miss Vilda} stands for every drag queen on the planet or for anyone who has been misunderstood. It turned out to be the most emotional thing in my entire career and I'm pretty proud of it."
On his fans: "Fans have been so faithful and been behind me for so long. I'd like to believe it's because I never forget that fans are the people who put you where you are at. I really appreciate that, and I've been able to have a career that keeps going and going and going."
His career philosophy: "What makes your work special is a sense of danger and unpredictability that can't be made up. That has to come from you as a person."
On love: "Relationships are hard, but you never give up. You go through phases. We always try and remember that you have to keep falling in love over and over again and discovering new things about each other....Don't lose touch with who the other person is growing into, allow them to push the envelope. It makes the relationship about discovery."
One of my favorite Swayze movies is "Road House" which was just an old-fashioned kick butt kinda flick with Patrick as the hero. In our interview, he cited that film as one of his favorites as well as the surfing bank robbers flick "Point Break" in which he co-starred with Keanu Reeves. Both movies were modest hits at the box office and remain cult classics and does "Donnie Darko" in which he played against type as a New Age guru who turns out to be pedophile.
His varied roles in 40-plus films came after a making a big splash in the 1979 roller disco movie "Skatetown USA." Patrick fought becoming the next teen idol after that film and went on to make "The Outsiders" in the early 80s and landed the lead role in the 1085 miniseries "North and South" which was followed by a sequel the next year.
Here's hoping Patrick, 55, will be able to work for as long as he wants to and is able.
Greg Hernandez has covered the entertainment industry for the Daily
News since 2001. He's considered a bit odd by some for his obsession
with box office numbers, has been known to camp out near the kitchen
at premieres for first crack at the hors d'oeurves, and Greg's never
seen a red carpet he didn't want to stroll down.