Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing (AP Photo)
Of course, I never met Patrick Swayze… but I also will never forget him. His death moved me, and I tried hard to figure out why. Was it aftermath from my father-in-law’s fight with pancreatic cancer? Was it what he represented as part of my childhood?
After reflection and reading all the articles and obituaries about the man, I figured it out: Patrick Swayze made it okay to lust after a dancer. I grew up in the 80s where my teenage heart-throbs were athletes, actors and musicians. I fell in love with Tom Cruise in Top Gun because of his bad-ass leather jacket, motorcycle and muscles.
And then, in 1987, a little movie called Dirty Dancing changed everything.
I saw the movie with my best friends Heather, Kristin and Vicki. We went to see a movie about dancing in the Catskills, and we were introduced to Johnny Castle. He was the bad boy of the film, but unlike Tom Cruise’s Maverick, Johnny Castle was a dancer. Oh, Johnny still had muscles, all-black attire and a street-tough attitude. But he also could move his hips, point his toes, dance the Cha-cha… and get the girls.
Yes, Patrick Swayze made dancers desirable. Even for teenage girls in the 80s.
Appreciating dancers (and loving musicals) was not new to my family. I grew up watching Gene Kelly in “Singing the Rain” year after year. I loved Gene Kelly… but he was not sexy to me, Patrick Swayze was. Gene Kelly was athletic, stylish and charismatic. Patrick Swayze was raw, manly and (I’ll say it once more) sexy.
In that vein, I say good-bye to Patrick Swayze. I never knew him, but I thank him for bringing sultry moves and pointed toes to the hearts of teenage girls everywhere.
– LTV Mom
Just trying to squeeze in some television between mothering, working and crashing.
