Impersonations by Kevin Spacey (Full Video)

Kevin does so many impressions and he is absolutely amazing at them! I could not believe that this actor had such a talent. Check out the video below to see what I am talking about!

Vatican says ‘Avatar’ is no masterpiece

Again, the Vatican goes overboard and needs to calm down!  IT’S JUST A MOVIE!!!!!  Who cares whats in it as it is not real!  We don’t watch a movie and go; “Wow! Nature is the real force of the Earth, lets all forget about God!” NO! We don’t do this and the Vatican needs to learn how to watch a movie and let it be a movie…Not some political view or religious attack or whatever.  CALM THE F DOWN!

VATICAN CITY – “Avatar” is wooing audiences worldwide with visually dazzling landscapes and nature-loving blue creatures. But the Vatican is no easy crowd to please.

The Vatican newspaper and radio station are criticizing James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster for flirting with the idea that worship of nature can replace religion — a notion the pope has warned against. They call the movie a simplistic and sappy tale, despite its awe-inspiring special effects.

“Not much behind the images” was how the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, summed it up in a headline.

As the second highest-grossing movie ever, “Avatar” is challenging the record set by Cameron’s previous movie “Titanic.”

Generally it has been critically acclaimed and is touted as a leading Oscar contender.

Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Evo Morales, has praised “Avatar” for what he calls its message of saving the environment from exploitation. But the movie also has drawn a number of critical voices. Some American conservative bloggers have decried its anti-militaristic message; a small group of people have said the movie contains racist themes.

To Vatican critics, the alien extravaganza is just “bland.”

Cameron “tells the story without going deep into it, and ends up falling into sappiness,” said L’Osservatore Romano. Vatican Radio called it “rather harmless” but said it was no heir to sci-fi masterpieces of the past.

Most significantly, much of the Vatican criticism was directed at the movie’s central theme of man vs. nature.

L’Osservatore said the film “gets bogged down by a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature.” Similarly, Vatican Radio said it “cleverly winks at all those pseudo-doctrines that turn ecology into the religion of the millennium.”

“Nature is no longer a creation to defend, but a divinity to worship,” the radio said.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said that while the movie reviews are just that — film criticism, not theological pronouncements — they do reflect Pope Benedict XVI’s views on the dangers of turning nature into a “new divinity.”

Benedict has often spoken about the need to protect the environment, earning the nickname of “green pope.” But he also has balanced that call with a warning against turning environmentalism into neo-paganism.

In a recent World Day of Peace message, the pontiff warned against any notions that equate human beings with other living things in the name of a “supposedly egalitarian vision.” He said such notions “open the way to a new pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man’s salvation in nature alone, understood in purely naturalistic terms.”

The pope explained in the message that while many experience tranquillity and peace when coming into contact with nature, a correct relationship between man and the environment should not lead to “absolutizing nature” or “considering it more important than the human person.”

The Vatican newspaper occasionally likes to comment in its cultural pages on movies or pop culture icons, as it did recently about “The Simpsons” or U2. In one famous instance, several Vatican officials spoke out against “The Da Vinci Code.”

In this case, the reviews came out after a red-carpet “Avatar” preview held in Rome just a stone’s throw from St. Peter’s Square. The movie — which has made more than $1.3 billion at box offices worldwide, partly boosted by higher 3-D ticket prices — will be released Friday in Italy.

“So much stupefying, enchanting technology, but few genuine emotions,” said L’Osservatore in one of three articles devoted to “Avatar” in its Sunday editions. The plotline of aliens who live on a distant unspoiled planet and the humans who want to pillage their resources is a universal theme that can be reminiscent of past colonizations and wars, the paper said. As such, it is easy to relate to it, but also unoriginal.

“Everything is reduced to an overly simple anti-imperialistic and anti-militaristic parable,” it said.

In America, the big numbers and media hype have been accompanied by some controversy.

Blog posts, newspaper articles, tweets and YouTube videos have criticized the film, with some calling it “a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people” and that it reinforces “the white Messiah fable.” Cameron says the real theme is about respecting others’ differences.

An LA Times blog noted that the movie “has inflamed the passions of right-wing bloggers and pundits.”

“Cameron incensed many voices on the right by acknowledging of-the-moment messages about imperialism, greed, ecological disregard and corporate irresponsibility,” it said. Anti-smoking lobbies have denounced the cigarette-puffing character played by Sigourney Weaver.

Back at the Vatican, the reviews did praise the groundbreaking visuals of the movie.

Vatican Radio said that “really never before have such surprising images been seen,” while L’Osservatore said the movie’s worth lies in its “extraordinary visual impact.”

Source: Click Here!

‘Avatar’ soars past movie milestone

Avatar made over a billion Dollars!!! I knew this video would be a hit but damn! I plan to see this movie 2-3 more times Check out the article below.

LOS ANGELES – James Cameron’s science-fiction epic “Avatar” had another stellar weekend with $68.3 million domestically, shooting past $1 billion worldwide, only the fifth movie ever to hit that mark.

No. 1 for the third-straight weekend, 20th Century Fox’s “Avatar” raised its domestic total to $352.1 million after just 17 days. The film added $133 million overseas to lift its international haul to $670 million, for a worldwide gross of $1.02 billion.

“Avatar” opened two weekends earlier with $77 million, a strong start but far below dozens of other blockbusters that debuted as high as $158 million. But business for other blockbusters usually tumbles in following weekends, while “Avatar” revenues barely dropped over the busy Christmas and New Year’s weekends.

“It’s like a runaway freight train. It just keeps doing business,” said Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston. “Here’s what’s happening: I think everybody has to see `Avatar’ once. Even people who don’t normally go to the movies, they’ve heard about it and are saying, `I have to see it.’ Then there’s those people seeing it multiple times.”

“Avatar” was Cameron’s first film since 1997’s “Titanic,” the biggest modern blockbuster with $1.8 billion worldwide.

Cameron now is the only filmmaker to direct two movies that have topped $1 billion. Along with “Titanic,” the others are “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” at $1.13 billion, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” at $1.06 billion and “The Dark Knight” at a fraction over $1 billion, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

With “Avatar” closing in on No. 2 film “The Return of the King,” Cameron is in striking distance of having the two top-grossing movies globally.

“Avatar” has had a price advantage over those other billion-dollar movies. About 75 percent of its domestic business has come from theaters showing it in digital 3-D presentation, those tickets typically costing a few dollars more than admissions for the 2-D version.

Finishing at No. 2 for the weekend was Robert Downey Jr.’s crime caper “Sherlock Holmes” with $38.4 million. The Warner Bros. film lifted its domestic total to $140.7 million after 10 days in theaters.

In third place was 20th Century Fox’s family tale “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” with $36.6 million. It raised its 10-day total to $157.3 million.

The top-three movies, along with solid holdovers that included Universal’s “It’s Complicated” at No. 4 with $18.7 million, steered Hollywood to a big start to 2010 after a year of record revenue.

Hollywood finished 2009 with $10.6 billion domestically, easily surpassing the previous record of $9.7 billion in 2007, according to Hollywood.com.

Factoring in today’s higher admission prices, the year was strong but not a modern record-breaker for number of tickets sold. According to Hollywood.com, domestic admissions came in at 1.42 billion in 2009, the most in the last five years, though well below the modern record of 1.6 billion in 2002.

In Hollywood’s glory years of the 1930s and ’40s, before television eroded the movie audience, estimated movie attendance ran as high as 4 billion some years.

Studios began 2010 with a headstart over last year. Overall revenues came in at $230 million, up 50 percent from New Year’s weekend in 2009, when “Marley & Me” was No. 1 with $24.3 million.

Like “Titanic” 12 years ago, “Avatar” has fairly clear sailing now that the holidays are over. Hollywood is entering a slow season, when fewer big movies arrive and competition is lighter.

“Titanic” lingered as the No. 1 film for months leading up to the Academy Awards, where it won 11 Oscars, including best picture and director.

“Avatar” also proved a critical favorite with strong Oscar potential. Cameron broke new ground in combining live-action, digitally-enhanced performances, visual effects and 3-D presentation to immerse viewers in his futuristic tale of humans and aliens on a distant moon.

“Leave it to James Cameron to do this. To not only set the technical world on fire, the visual world on fire, but also the box-office world on fire 12 years after `Titanic,’” said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. “Avatar,” $68.3 million.

2. “Sherlock Holmes,” $38.4 million.

3. “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” $36.6 million.

4. “It’s Complicated,” $18.7 million.

5. “The Blind Side,” $12.7 million.

6. “Up in the Air,” $11.4 million.

7. “The Princess and the Frog,” $10 million.

8. “Did You Hear About the Morgans?”, $5.2 million.

9. “Nine,” $4.3 million.

10. “Invictus,” $4.1 million.

Source: Click Here!

Avatar was the shit!!! A must see!

Avatar was the best movie I’ve seen in years! Don’t worry about spending the money for this movie as it will be worth!  Go out and see it now!  The movie looks so realistic and the graphics were awesome…This movie is the new standard for up-in-coming movies.  If the graphics do not stand up against Avatar, then that movie is lame.

If you don’t believe me, check out this little snippet; “earned an estimated $232.2 million from North America and 106 foreign markets, according to News Corp’s 20th Century Fox, provisionally the ninth-biggest opening of all time.”

Check out the trailer below!

Brief summary of the movie;

In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture. 

When his brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge’s intentions of driving off the native humanoid “Na’vi” in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na’vi people with the use of an “avatar” identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand – and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

Penn dominates Sanchez at UFC 107

I saw this fight and it was awesome!!!  BJ Penn was beating the shit out of Sanchez…Sanchez couldn’t do anything but eat those punches.  The entire fight he tried to take down BJ but BJ wasn’t goin for it! Everything Sanchez tried BJ would punish him for it; A barrage of punches hitting Sanchez’s face!

(Click on picture for short video clip!)

Frank Mir whooped Cheick Kongo’s ass!  In a minute twenty-nine (1:29) I believe Mir dominated Kongo and got him by submission.  Kongo was out cold!  That was the quickest match I’ve seen in the UFC…I did not believe Cheick Kongo would go down so fast and so easy.

(Click on picture for video of the match!)

Overall, there were lots of good fights and well worth the cash to spend on it.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – B.J. Penn retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title with one of the elite performances of his Hall of Fame career against Diego Sanchez on Saturday at the FedEx Forum in the main event of UFC 107.

He systematically took Sanchez apart, inflicting huge amounts of damage before stopping Sanchez at 2:37 of the fifth round.

“I was keeping my mouth shut, but I always wanted to fight Diego Sanchez,” Penn said.

It was one-sided from the opening seconds, as Sanchez had no answers for Penn. The Hawaiian knocked Sanchez down in the fight’s opening seconds and nearly finished him in the first 45 seconds.

After that, it was just a beatdown until the fight was stopped because of a massive gash on Sanchez’s forehead. Penn landed a kick to the head, followed by a knee and a series of uppercuts before referee Herb Dean stopped it to ask the doctor to examine the cut.

The ringside physician advised that the fight should be stopped and Penn was declared the winner.

“It happens,” Sanchez said of the one-sided loss. “He’s a great champion and that was the best B.J. ever to step in the ring. I did my best.”

On the undercard, Frank Mir, the former UFC heavyweight champion, and Cheick Kongo engaged in a lot of smack talk before the fight. Mir had derided Kongo as having the worst ground game in the UFC.

Mir, though, used his punching power to win the bout in just 72 seconds. Mir ducked under a Kongo right and then unloaded a huge left hand that sent Kongo to the canvas in a heap.

Mir followed immediately and slapped a guillotine choke on Kongo. Referee Herb Dean saw that Kongo was out from the choke and stopped the bout at 1:12.

“He’s a big, powerful guy and I didn’t want to let that chokehold go and have him ground and pound me,” Mir said.

In perhaps the most anticipated fight other than the main event, Kenny Florian rebounded form his loss to Penn in the main event of UFC 101 by choking out Clay Guida at 2:19 of the second round.

Guida controlled much of the first round, but he was cut badly on the left side of his forehead by a Florian elbow late in the round.

In the second round, Florian landed a left and followed with a hard straight left that dropped Guida to the canvas. Florian pounced and landed a number of hard shots. As Guida tried to roll away to get out of trouble, Florian transitioned to a rear naked choke and forced Guida to tap.

Florian credited improvements in his boxing for the win. As he was in the cage being interviewed on the pay-per-view broadcast by Joe Rogan, Rogan told him to look at the screen and describe the replay.

When it didn’t come up, Florian joked, “It was so fast, you couldn’t even see it.”

But he credited coach Firas Zahabi with his improved striking.

“I’ve really worked hard to tighten up my boxing,” said Florian, who said he hopes to earn a third shot at the lightweight title.

“I admit my last performance wasn’t good,” Florian said of his fourth-round submission loss to Penn in a bid for the lightweight title at UFC 101. “I’m trying to get better every day. I want another shot at the title.”

One-time welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch managed to survive a tough challenge from Mike Pierce and pulled out a unanimous decision victory. All three judges scored it 29-28 for the former Purdue wrestler.

In the pay-per-view opener, Stefan Struve won a majority decision over Paul Buentello in a heavyweight fight, though Buentello landed the harder, more telling blows. Twice in the fight, Struve tried a flying knee, only to be knocked down hard by Buentello.

Struve won by scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 28-28. Judge Nelson “Doc” Hamilton scored it 10-8 for Struve in the first, but gave Buentello each of the last two rounds to come up with the 28-28 score.

The show began with a series of excellent fights on the preliminary card. T.J. Grant, who is from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, the same small town as Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, opened the show with a first-round technical knockout of Kevin Burns.

Burns drilled Grant early and knocked him down and was seemingly on the verge of stopping him. Grant survived the onslaught and, about 10 seconds before the round was over, he landed a wild right on Burns’ jaw.

Grant pounced and finished him with ground and pound, as referee Greg Franklin dove in to stop it.

“I thought I was going to run out of time,” Grant said. “I was going for it. I wanted to end this thing.”

But that wasn’t anything compared to the next fight, as Edgar Garcia and DaMarques Johnson put on a spectacular back-and-forth show. The fight encompassed all aspects of MMA and had the high-intensity crowd roaring its approval.

Garcia, who is a very hard puncher, clipped Johnson and knocked him down and briefly, it seemed Johnson was in a bad position. But he very quickly maneuvered into position for a triangle choke and forced Garcia to tap.

“That was spur of the moment,” Johnson said of transitioning to the triangle. “That was some straight up Jeremy Horn fight-jitsu. I can’t really remember much because he hits so hard.”

Rousimar Palhares submitted Lucio Linhares with a heel hook at 3:21 of the second round in a fight that featured a variety of slick submissions and escapes.

Johny Hendricks, a collegiate wrestling All-American at Oklahoma State, dominated Ricardo Funch with punches, knees and slams in winning a wide unanimous decision. Scores were 30-27 twice and 30-25.

“I just wanted to show that I have jiu-jitsu and I did it against a purple belt,” Hendricks said. “He’s a tough dude. I hit him with everything I had.”

Matt Wiman’s physical strength and punching power were too much for “Sugar” Shane Nelson as Wiman pulled out a unanimous decision. All three judges had it 30-27.

And Alan Belcher ended the preliminary card with a first-round stoppage of Wilson Gouveia in a fight that was contested at a catchweight of 195 pounds. Belcher and Gouveia traded hard shots for much of the round, but as the fighters were clinched along the cage, Belcher landed a hard right uppercut that hurt Gouveia, who slumped to the canvas. Belcher pounced on Gouveia and finished the bout at 3:03.

I want to show I can finish fights,” Belcher said. “I can knock guys out. I came into the UFC and I was young. All I knew was the UFC. But now I’m ready to step up and be the next contender. I want that belt.”

Source: Click Here!

‘Let’s Get Ready to Rumble’ Worth $400M

This is so unbelievable! I wish I had those five words trademarked…I would be 400 million dollars richer…  *cries*

When Hollywood producers cast a ring announcer in a boxing scene, they know there’s only one man who can properly play the role: Michael Buffer.

Share

Michael Buffer’s “Let’s get ready to rumble” can rouse crowds of thousands.

More Photos

Cast in more than 20 movies and television shows, from “Rocky” to “South Park” to the new movie “2012,” Buffer, 65, gives the scene an authenticity viewers demand.

His booming voice, dashing good looks and natural charisma demand attention, while his catchphrase ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rumble,’ makes him unforgettable.

Those five words — ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rumble’ — have made Buffer the undisputed king of boxing ring announcers and a hugely successful entrepreneur.

By trademarking his catchphrase, Buffer has generated over $400 million in revenue, selling the rights to music, video games, merchandise and while making personal appearances. His business venture is so successful, Buffer doesn’t even have to say his catchphrase to make money. He makes more from the trademark then he does announcing in the ring.

His catchphrase has brought Buffer more than just fame and fortune. It’s also brought him family.

Raised by foster parents in Philadelphia, Buffer was re-united with his biological father and half-brothers in 1989 after his father saw him announcing on television. Buffer’s half-brother Bruce is now his business partner and the announcer for the Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts series.

But last year it nearly all came crashing down.

Buffer was diagnosed with throat cancer, the worst kind of disease imaginable for an announcer. His initial diagnosis required aggressive surgery and chemotherapy, which would almost certainly end his announcing career.

Buffer, however, got a reprieve. A second diagnosis called for a less invasive surgery that could potentially save his throat.

The surgery was a success, and today, Buffer is traveling the world again with his great voice and gangbuster trademark.

ABC’s John Berman recently sat down with the iconic announcer at his home near Los Angeles to discuss Buffer’s legendary career.

Berman: When someone says, ‘Michael Buffer, what do you do for a living?,’ how do you respond to that?

Buffer: I usually say sports announcer. Not broadcaster, but sports announcer.

Berman: And what does that mean exactly?

Buffer: Well, primarily, of course, boxing ring announcer. But, you know, I’ve been blessed with — that being parleyed into doing the introductions for World Series and NBA playoffs and Stanley Cup games and home openers of major sports and colleges. So, you know, I got to introduce a lot of guys.

Berman: When you were growing up in, in Philadelphia, you said, ‘I want to be the world’s best-known introducer?’

Buffer: I had no clue that this would ever happen. I would watch the fights with my kids back in the early ’80s, and a ring announcer in a fight announced the split decision. And he did it without the proper sequence, to give you the dramatic effect of — ‘and the winner by split decision,’ pause, everybody waits and he gave away this — the winner after two judges. And my oldest son said, ‘Dad, you could do that.’ And, and I thought, ‘Well, yeah, OK. I’m a big fan. I can’t afford a ticket, so maybe I could just get my way in to the ring that way.’ And I came up with a sort of enhanced resume that said I had experience, and got my foot in the door and was quite terrible the first time. But I got another shot and it just took off, the power of television.

Rest of Story of source page.

Source: Click Here!

4 charged with burglarizing celeb homes

It is about time they find the people doing this.  I mean, I am sure those celebs won’t miss the items those thieves took but still good to see the criminals were caught…Now they can’t do anymore stealing!

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles prosecutors on Wednesday charged four people with burglarizing the homes of Hollywood celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom and Megan Fox.

Felony residential burglary charges were filed against three women and one man, who range in age from 18 to 27. Prosecutors have declined to file charges against 18-year-old Rachel Lee pending further investigation.

The suspects include Alexis Neiers, who is filming a pilot for a reality show, and Courtney Ames, Diana Tamayo and Roy Lopez Jr. The group is accused of breaking into the homes of Lohan, Fox, Paris Hilton and “The Hills” star Audrina Patridge.

Additional charges will be filed against an alleged accomplice, Nicholas Prugo, who had already been charged with burglaries at Lohan and Patridge’s homes.

Attorneys for Prugo and Neiers did not immediately return messages seeking comment on charges being filed on Wednesday. Tamayo’s father said he had no comment on the case and declined to say whether she has an attorney.

Attempts to reach Ames and Lopez were unsuccessful.

The five people charged to date in the case are suspected of stealing more than $3 million in jewelry, designer clothes and other accessories, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

A publicist for Hilton said the heiress has recovered some of her property.

Source: Click Here!

Black Eyed Peas!

I love this song!!!

THIS IS AWESOME!!!

When I saw  this video I was just amazed…Technology that we have today;  just keep getting better and better.

Actor Patrick Swayze dies at 57

Wow…He will be missed!  I still can’t believe he is gone.  Sad day indeed  ;(

LOS ANGELES – Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into moviegoers’ hearts with “Dirty Dancing” and then broke them with “Ghost,” died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

“Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months,” his publicist, Annett Wolf, said in a statement Monday evening. Swayze died in Los Angeles, Wolf said, but she declined to give further details.

Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer. He kept working despite the diagnosis, putting together a memoir with his wife and shooting “The Beast,” an A&E drama series for which he had already made the pilot.

Swayze said he opted not to use painkilling drugs while making “The Beast” because they would have taken the edge off his performance. The show drew a respectable 1.3 million viewers when the 13 episodes ran in 2009, but A&E said it had reluctantly decided not to renew it for a second season.

When he first went public with the illness, some reports gave him only weeks to live, but his doctor said his situation was “considerably more optimistic” than that. Swayze acknowledged that time might be running out given the grim nature of the disease.

“I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking,” Swayze told ABC’s Barbara Walters in early 2009. “Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics. I want to last until they find a cure, which means I’d better get a fire under it.”

C. Thomas Howell, who costarred with Swayze in “The Outsiders,” “Grandview U.S.A.” and “Red Dawn,” said: “I have always had a special place in my heart for Patrick. While I was fortunate enough to work with him in three films, it was our passion for horses that forged a friendship between us that I treasure to this day. Not only did we lose a fine actor today, I lost my older ‘Outsiders’ brother.”

Other celebrities used Twitter to express condolences, and “Dirty Dancing” was the top trending topic for a while Monday night, trailed by several other Swayze films.

Ashton Kutcher — whose wife, Demi Moore, costarred with Swayze in “Ghost” — wrote: “RIP P Swayze.” Kutcher also linked to a YouTube clip of the actor poking fun at himself in a classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch, in which he played a wannabe Chippendales dancer alongside the corpulent — and frighteningly shirtless — Chris Farley.

Larry King wrote: “Patrick Swayze was a wonderful actor & a terrific guy. He put his heart in everything. He was an extraordinary fighter in his battle w Cancer.” King added that he’d do a tribute to Swayze on his CNN program on Tuesday night.

A three-time Golden Globe nominee, Swayze became a star with his performance as the misunderstood bad boy Johnny Castle in “Dirty Dancing.” As the son of a choreographer who began his career in musical theater, he seemed a natural to play the role.

A coming-of-age romance starring Jennifer Grey as an idealistic young woman on vacation with her family and Swayze as the Catskills resort’s sexy (and much older) dance instructor, the film made great use of both his grace on his feet and his muscular physique.

It became an international phenomenon in the summer of 1987, spawning albums, an Oscar-winning hit song in “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life,” stage productions and a sequel, 2004’s “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights,” in which he made a cameo.

Swayze performed and co-wrote a song on the soundtrack, the ballad “She’s Like the Wind,” inspired by his wife, Lisa Niemi. The film also gave him the chance to utter the now-classic line, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”

Swayze followed that up with the 1989 action flick “Road House,” in which he played a bouncer at a rowdy bar. But it was his performance in 1990’s “Ghost” that showed his vulnerable, sensitive side. He starred as a murdered man trying to communicate with his fiancee (Moore) — with great frustration and longing — through a psychic played by Whoopi Goldberg.

Swayze said at the time that he fought for the role of Sam Wheat (director Jerry Zucker wanted Kevin Kline) but once he went in for an audition and read six scenes, he got it.

Why did he want the part so badly? “It made me cry four or five times,” he said of Bruce Joel Rubin’s Oscar-winning script in an AP interview.

“Ghost” provided yet another indelible musical moment: Swayze and Moore sensually molding pottery together to the strains of the Righteous Brothers‘ “Unchained Melody.” It also earned a best-picture nomination and a supporting-actress Oscar for Goldberg, who said she wouldn’t have won if it weren’t for Swayze.

“When I won my Academy Award, the only person I really thanked was Patrick,” Goldberg said in March 2008 on the ABC daytime talk show “The View.”

Swayze himself earned three Golden Globe nominations, for “Dirty Dancing,” “Ghost” and 1995’s “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar,” which further allowed him to toy with his masculine image. The role called for him to play a drag queen on a cross-country road trip alongside Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo.

His heartthrob status almost kept him from being considered for the role of Vida Boheme.

“I couldn’t get seen on it because everyone viewed me as terminally heterosexually masculine-macho,” he told The Associated Press then. But he transformed himself so completely that when his screen test was sent to Steven Spielberg, whose Amblin pictures produced “To Wong Foo,” Spielberg didn’t recognize him.

Among his earlier films, Swayze was part of the star-studded lineup of up-and-comers in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s novel “The Outsiders,” alongside Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez and Diane Lane.

Other ’80s films included “Red Dawn,” “Grandview U.S.A.” (for which he also provided choreography) and “Youngblood,” once more with Lowe, as Canadian hockey teammates.

In the ’90s, he made such eclectic films as “Point Break” (1991), in which he played the leader of a band of bank-robbing surfers, and the family Western “Tall Tale” (1995), in which he starred as Pecos Bill. He appeared on the cover of People magazine as its “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1991, but his career tapered off toward the end of the 1990s, when he also had a stay in rehab for alcohol abuse. In 2001, he appeared in the cult favorite “Donnie Darko,” and in 2003 he returned to the New York stage with “Chicago”; 2006 found him in the musical “Guys and Dolls” in London.

Swayze was born in 1952 in Houston, the son of Jesse Swayze and choreographer Patsy Swayze, whose films include “Urban Cowboy.”

He played football but also was drawn to dance and theater, performing with the Feld, Joffrey and Harkness Ballets and appearing on Broadway as Danny Zuko in “Grease.” But he turned to acting in 1978 after a series of injuries.

Within a couple years of moving to Los Angeles, he made his debut in the roller-disco movie “Skatetown, U.S.A.” The eclectic cast included Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Maureen McCormack and Billy Barty.

Off-screen, he was an avid conservationist who was moved by his time in Africa to shine a light on “man’s greed and absolute unwillingness to operate according to Mother Nature’s laws,” he told the AP in 2004.

Swayze was married since 1975 to Niemi, a fellow dancer who took lessons with his mother; they met when he was 19 and she was 15. A licensed pilot, Niemi would fly her husband from Los Angeles to Northern California for treatment at Stanford University Medical Center.

In February, Swayze wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post titled, “I’m Battling Cancer. How About Some Help, Congress?” in which he urged senators and representatives to vote for the maximum funding for the National Institutes of Health to fight cancer as part of the economic stimulus package.

He also appeared in the September 2008 live television event “Stand Up to Cancer,” where he made this moving plea: “I keep dreaming of a future, a future with a long and healthy life, a life not lived in the shadow of cancer, but in the light. … I dream that the word ‘cure’ will no longer be followed by the words ‘is impossible.’”

Source: Click Here!