Then came the big 60 million dollar hit Dirty Dancing (1987). This movie was directed by Emile Ardolino, who went on to direct such films as 3 Men and a Little Lady and Sister Act and sadly died of Aids in 1993. The character Baby (the infatuated young girl) was played by Jennifer Grey, who is the daughter of famed choreographer Joel Grey of Cabaret fame. The scenic areas of Lake Lure, North Carolina and Mountain Lake Resort, Virginia, were used to capture the 60's time setting. From this movie the massive song hit "(Now I've had) The time of my life" brought Swayze good revenue.
Road House (1989) Patrick plays a bouncer hired to clean up a Missouri roadhouse called the Double Deuce in which Sam Elliott is his long time friend and mentor. Another great movie followed that same year called Next of Kin, staring Liam Neeson, Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt where he plays a cop whose brother has been killed by a Chicago crime "family" and his Appalachian Hills family deliver backwoods-style retribution.
Ghost appeared to the screen in 1990 with Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, where Patrick Swayze's offed by a killer, but his ghost hangs around to make sure his love (Demi Moore) isn't next on the hit list. Point Break (1991) with Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, was an action/drama where Patrick played a clean-cut FBI rookie assigned to track down a gang of bank robbers.
Swayze's career has brought some really good movies in the 90's such as City of Joy (1992), Father Hood (1993), and a heart touching drama Three Wishes (1995), where he plays a traveling stranger with a dog. They grant three magical wishes to the family.
If you haven't seen it - you should -- To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) with Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, Stockard Channing. Where three drag queens do their thing for the locals when they get stranded in a small town. This movie deals with marital abuse and lost lives. When you get past the men in dresses you can see the depth of the story.
Two of his most recent movies are Letters From a Killer (1998) where former convict is framed for the murders of women who wrote to him while he was in prison and Black Dog (1998) with country music singer Randy Travis. Patrick plays an ex-con truck driver transporting a load of illegal weapons due to his family being held as hostage.
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