R.I.P. Swayze

Acting legend Patrick Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer yesterday. Some may disagree, but this loss is much worse than the loss of Ted Kennedy, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett combined.

So many of us grew up wondering how Swayze could be so, well, Swayze. How many actors do you know had the range to go from saving the country from a Soviet takeover, to being a dance master, to ripping someone's Adam's apple out with his bare hands? The answer is one. Swayze.

The man could also do bad guys better than anyone else. In Point Break, Swayze had audiences in the palm of his hand. One moment we loved him, then we hated him, then we were hoping he'd get away with it. Even when he was bad, he was so good. In the director's cut (yes, there is a director's cut of Point Break) Swayze actually survives the once in lifetime wave. You have to wait until after the credits, but he pops out of the water and he calmly walks back to the beach.

He wasn't just a badass in his characters though, Swayze was a beast in real life. When filming the television show, "The Beast" last year, he went off his painkillers. That's right. The man was dying of cancer and in constant pain, but he thought the meds would take the edge off his performance.

Now I can't confirm this, but from watching Road House 247 times I think it's safe to say Swayze performed his own stunts in the movie. To make the feat even more impressive, he also did the rest of the cast's stunts. He was actually in the building when it exploded.

Let us not forget his softer side. He was a part of one of the best Saturday Night Live skits of all time. If he's not there looking incredible, then Chris Farley's performance is not nearly as funny.

I could go on for pages about the greatness of Swayze, but I will let you do your own research and learn to appreciate him in your own way.

And before you even try, nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Hungry Eyes - Eric Carmen