Jennifer Grey Remembers Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze’s Dirty Dancing costar Jennifer Grey, who played Frances “Baby” Houseman, remembers Swayze, after the news he passed away on Monday, Septemebr 14, 2009 at age 57 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

“When I think of him, I think of being in his arms when we were kids, dancing, practicing the lift in the freezing lake, having a blast doing this tiny little movie we thought no one would ever see.”

Adding that Swayze was a “real cowboy with a tender heart,” who was so fearless doing his own stunts that “it was not surprising to me that the war he waged on his cancer was so courageous and dignified.”

Grey, 49, continues:

“Patrick was a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace.  My heart goes out to his wife and childhood sweetheart, Lisa Niemi, to his mom, Patsy, and to the rest of their family.”

The choreographer for Dirty Dancing, Kenny Ortega released a statement saying:

“Patrick was a great human being who I knew as a loving son, husband, brother and friend. He was one of the most creative, enjoyable and alive people I knew. He did as much for dancing as any man of our generation.

“Patrick loved life, and had such an enthusiasm for everything he did. If he could climb it, he climbed it. If he could write it, he wrote it. If he could dance it, well, we all know he did. He lived.”

“Patrick Swayze was a loving and soulful man. The planet has lost a big heart. And I, a forever friend. My loving thoughts to Lisa, Patsy and his entire family.”