Sharon Feinstein

I interviewed Patrick Swayze many years ago, over lunch at London’s Savoy. He was promoting Dirty Dancing with Jennifer Grey, and came to lunch looking so gorgeous I wanted us to elope. The film really showed off his muscular physique and great dance moves, but sitting opposite him across a white tablecloth at the luxury hotel was a whole lot more powerful. I remember being struck by how unassuming and gracious he was, there to talk about his low-budget movie which was expected to have just a short run. Little did he know it was to become a surprise million dollar hit and worldwide cult favourite. And little did he know that at just 57 he would be dead from pancreatic cancer. Jennifer Grey must be feeling very sombre today as she remembers being swept about in his arms as dance instructor Johnny Castle, the two of them in the bloom of youth looking so fresh and exhilarated. Famous for the line ‘Nobody puts Baby in a corner,’ the movie became a phenomenon that Patrick says took his life ‘into insanity’. Women across the globe joined the ’100-plus’ club marking the number of times they’d seen it. It sent my world into hyperspace, said Patrick. Now he’s gone, into that other hyperspace where no one can reach him, while in that very bizarre way,his image remains, on the big screen, as large as life

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