In case the Dirty Dancing remake wasn’t enough of a shame in itself, The National Enquirer has a story that Patrick Swayze’s widow, Lisa Niemi, is upset that no one called her to give her the heads up on the remake and that she had to read about it through the press. To me this article sounds like The Enquirer called Niemi for a comment and got an earful, but was told it should be off the record. This is the kind of story that they wouldn’t just make up out of thin air.

Patrick Swayze’s devastated wife Lisa Niemi is outraged she hasn’t been consulted on the remake of “Dirty Dancing” – the celebrated film that made her late husband a superstar…

Now Kenny Ortega, the original film’s choreographer, is set to direct a remake – and Lisa is worried it will erase the memory of her husband’s masterful performance.

“Lisa wishes someone – anyone – would have called to tell her about the remake before she read about it,” said an insider. “She wishes they would have asked her opinion. I’m sure she would’ve urged them to find a way to incorporate original footage of Patrick in the new film…

“Lisa says she wants Patrick to be remembered for his roles in ‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Ghost,’ and the brave fight he waged against cancer,” revealed the insider.

“She knows she doesn’t have any standing to tell anyone how to make the movie, but does feel she could contribute something.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, August 29, 2011]

Casting news for this remake is… not good to say the least. Names being floated include Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake. I would personally like to volunteer Ryan Gosling for consideration, since he recently showed off a DD move on The Today Show and lifted up Al Roker. I’m not sh*tting you, you can see the video here. Still, even the most beloved and talented replacement for Patrick Swayze will still be a replacement. No one can fill that man’s shoes in that iconic role. It’s sad for his widow that no one had the foresight or the respect to call her ahead of time and let her know that the movie was being remade. Given all the negative buzz it might get stalled at some point and the project could end up shelved anyway. That’s just an impression and I have no idea how far they are with it.

The movie’s other star, Jennifer Grey, has put her faith in the new director Kenny Ortega, who choreographed the original cult hit. She said in a statement, “I’m so excited about this news and I think there’s nobody better to do this than my beloved Kenny Ortega who is as responsible as anyone for the success of the first one. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do with it.” It sounds like she’s gunning for a cameo, and why not? It’s not like too many fans will recognize her with her new nose anyway.

Update: I just found this article where director Ortega claims that Neimi is supportive, but he didn’t say he told her about the remake ahead of time. He said, “Jennifer [Grey] and I have been talking and she’s been so supportive, as has Lisa Swayze and [producer] Eleanor Bernstein.”

These photos are from 2006, 2007 and 2008. (The header photo is dated 2008, but I assume it’s older.) Credit: WENN and Fame

A private memorial was held for beloved actor Patrick Swayze on Sunday. Swayze passed last month at the age of 57 after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. The details of the memorial are touching. Patrick, who lived out some of his final months at the ranch he shared in New Mexico with his wife of 31 years, Lisa Neimi, was an avid horseman and bred Arabian horses. One of his horses, a white stallion, was at the memorial with Patrick’s boots placed backwards in the stirrups. People Magazine calls this “an old horseman tradition,” and it’s something I’ve never heard of before. Different reports on Askville.Amazon.com indicate that the tradition of using riderless horses at a funeral dates back to Roman times and is sometimes included in services for fallen soldiers and heads of state. The horse of the deceased often follows the casket, although in Patrick’s case the body was cremated so the horse was just there as a silent reminder of his owner.

Swayze’s memorial also included a dance tribute planned by his widow and performed by professional dancers. There was also a video memorial and speeches by his loved ones. In a way I’m glad that the memorial was private as it was for his family and friends and shouldn’t have been turned into a spectacle. On the other hand it sounds incredible and I would have liked to have seen it. Just reading about it makes me tear up:

Guests arriving for Patrick Swayze’s private memorial on Sunday were greeted by a lone white horse, which was owned and beloved by the late actor whose boots were facing backwards in the stirrups.

“It’s an old horseman tradition,” a source tells PEOPLE of the gesture.

Held on the Sony Studios lot in Culver City, Calif., the service – attended by several hundred friends and family, including Whoopi Goldberg – incorporated many photos of Swayze riding his horses, along with a video tribute to the star, who died from pancreatic cancer on Sept. 14.

The memorial, planned by the actor’s wife Lisa Niemi, featured speeches celebrating Swayze’s life and a performance by professional dancers in honor of his talent.

“A whole dance floor was built,” says another source. “The dancers did these amazing numbers.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requested that donations be made to The Patrick Swayze Pancreas Cancer Research Fund or Stand Up to Cancer.

[From People]

A couple of weeks ago I rewatched Dirty Dancing in honor of Patrick. I had forgotten what a great movie it was. There was something so vulnerable yet masculine about Patrick. He struck me as a rare type of actor who is able to play the sensitive male lead without a hint of artifice. He just seemed like a great guy.

Patrick’s personal life was much more troubled than we might assume. His autobiography, co-written with his wife Lisa Neimi, came out last week. Lisa and Patrick revealed that they lived separate lives for about a year, in 2003, when she rented an apartment about 20 minutes from their home. Patrick was in the throes of alcoholism at the time. He is said to have turned to drinking after his father’s death in 1982 and the suicide of his sister in 1994. Prior to Patrick’s cancer diagnosis, he had been reunited with Lisa for about four years, and the past two years they had together they were closer than ever. RIP Patrick, you will be missed by so many.

The tributes to late actor/dancer Patrick Swayze just keep pouring in. One really great one that I recommend is in this week’s “Entertainment Weekly,” which features amazing family photos of the star, and some great quotes from a few of his co-stars, including Whoopi Goldberg, Ralph Macchio and Jennifer Grey (more on her in a minute). Last night on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” Swayze was honored for his contributions to the art of dance with a montage of music and movement from his most famous films, including, of course, “Dirty Dancing.” The singing was fairly atrocious, but the dancing was fine.

“Dancing with the Stars” honored the late Patrick Swayze Wednesday night on the elimination episode.

Executive producer Conrad Green called him “one of the few people to integrate dance with being an A-list actor.”

The show’s pros danced to “She’s Like The Wind,” “Unchained Melody,” and the “Dirty Dancing” song, “Time Of My Life.” The tribute culminates with Tony Dovolani and Cheryl Burke doing the film’s lift scene.

[From Huffington Post]

About that famous lift from “Dirty Dancing:” In Patrick’s about-to-be-published memoir, “The Time of My Life,” he reveals the real story behind that well-known scene. It’s been reported over the years that there was some friction between Swayze and his young leading lady, Jennifer Grey, on set. Swayze was actually a lot older than Jennifer and felt that her immaturity and mood swings were dragging down the film’s production, as he details in this passage from the book:

Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey may have danced into each other’s hearts onscreen, but the late actor definitely didn’t have the time of his life filming “Dirty Dancing.”

In his aptly titled autobiography, “The Time of My Life” – the release of which was pushed from October to next Tuesday in the wake of his recent death – Swayze writes that his leading lady was one huge pain in the derriere on-set. Why the beef? Apparently, Grey acted too much like, well, a girl.

“We did have a few moments of friction when we were tired or after a long day of shooting. [Grey] seemed particularly emotional, sometimes bursting into tears if someone criticized her,” he writes in his Atria-published memoir. “Other times, she slipped into silly moods, forcing us to do scenes over and over again when she’d start laughing.”

Grey’s mood swings proved to be too much for Swayze. “I was on overdrive for the whole shoot – staying up all night to do rewrites, squeezing in dance rehearsals, shooting various scenes – and was exhausted a lot of the time,” he recalls in the book. “I didn’t have a whole lot of patience for doing multiple retakes.”

That patience wore especially thin the day Swayze and Grey filmed the film’s famous lake scene, in which the submerged actor repeatedly – and romantically – lifts Grey in the air. “It was horrifyingly, hypothermically cold in that lake, and we filmed that scene over and over,” he said. “And despite the fact that Jennifer was very light, when you’re lifting someone in water, even the skinniest little girl can feel like 500 pounds.”

But Swayze – like the nice guy he really was – forgave the actress for her annoying tics, saying she still did a “truly phenomenal job” and that “in many ways, she made the movie.”

Grey will be able to hear her co-star’s thoughts about their time filming the 1987 classic. A rep for Swayze confirms that he recorded an emotional reading of his autobiography before he died; the audio-book CD will be available on Tuesday as well.

[From NY Daily News]

This shouldn’t be a huge surprise to hardcore fans of the movie (such as myself. Don’t judge me!). Both Jennifer and Patrick have said over the years that they didn’t get along so well while they were making this movie. It wasn’t until the movie came out and became an international craze that the two stars mended fences and became friends. I don’t think Patrick was looking to diss Jennifer in his book – he was just being honest about the situation. I know that Jennifer has shown nothing but love and compassion for her co-star during his cancer battle and said some beautiful things about him in the wake of his death, so hopefully this passage of the book doesn’t get blown out of proportion. At any rate, it’s been great reading so many lovely things about him and I’ll be interested in reading his book when it comes out.

Actress Suzanne Somers, 62, is an advocate of natural health practices and told Oprah earlier last year that she takes 60 pills a day, along with bioidentical hormones, which she credits with helping stave off the symptoms of menopause. She has a book out about bioidentical hormones, Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones, published in 2006, and another about general wellness, Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness published last year. Apparently Somers has yet another book coming out in a month about cancer, and she just had to speak out to a journalist about how Patrick Swayze was “poisoned” by chemotherapy:

Suzanne Somers, a cancer survivor herself, thinks Patrick Swayze was killed by chemotherapy. “They took a beautiful man” and “put poison in his body,” the “Three’s Company” star told columnist Shinan Govani at the party for Tom Ford’s movie, “A Single Man,” at the Toronto Film Festival. While Julianne Moore, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen and Colin Firth made chitchat, Somers, who has a book about cancer coming out next month, said: “Why couldn’t they have built him up nutritionally and got ten rid of the toxins? . . . I hate to be this controversial . . . but I have to speak out.”

[From The NY Post]

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most silent, deadly and fast-acting cancers. Swayze had the benefit of some of the best cancer treatment in the world, and was treated at Stanford University Cancer Center, where he underwent CyberKnife surgery, a state-of-the-art treatment that allows for precise radiation treatment of tumors without surgery. The fact that Swayze had access to the latest care is likely to have allowed him many more months with his family and loved ones on his ranch. He was diagnosed in March, 2008, and survived a year and a half after what was initially rumored to be a very grim prognosis.

Somers probably means well, but she really shouldn’t bring up Swayze at all to further her agenda. Illness and treatment are a personal matter. Somers had breast cancer, which does make her a cancer survivor but not an expert on all forms of cancer or treatment. Chemotherapy saves lives, and while it inevitably makes people sick and kills healthy cells while it’s killing the cancer it’s reckless to dismiss it as “poison.” It’s especially callous to claim that Swayze’s death was somehow related to the treatment that may have significantly prolonged his life. I hope Somers clarifies her remarks somehow or explains that they were taken out of context. It sounds like she thinks she’s doing everyone this great favor, though, by saying that Swayze was poisoned. She’s a whack job.

Suzanna Somers is shown out on 8/16/09 with her buddy Pam Anderson and 9/13/09. Credit: WENN.com

Both People and Us Weekly have put tributes to Patrick Swayze on their covers this week. Sometimes I dislike the media raking over of some celebrities after their deaths, but I’m finding the coverage of Patrick’s passing to be very respectful. Everyone really seemed to love the man. Among the tributes for Patrick is a planned honor on Dancing With The Stars, which, Patrick was a huge fan of, and came and helped out the first season for his friend John O‘Hurley. DWTS executive producer Conrad Green told People, “We have some very fond memories of [the late actor] coming to help us our when we were a tiny little show way back when…He was one of the few people to integrate dance with being an A-list actor,” Green says. “He inspired many people and many of our pros to dance. We want to honor the great moments he’s brought to film by getting our dancers to do their interpretation to some music from his films.”

On yesterday’s The View, Patrick’s Ghost costar Whoopi Goldberg cried when talking about Patrick. She said: “This was a well fought battle. Patrick fought like the Dickens to survive it – or to get through it. He never thought of himself as someone who was dying. His attitude was, ‘Until it kills me I am going to keep doing what I am doing.’ He worked until the last minute … He just was a cat that never gave up.” About their time on the set of Ghost, Whoopi said, “He’d moon me…He was the greatest. Because of Patrick Swayze, I got that movie Ghost and because of Patrick Swayze, I have an Oscar,” Whoopi also talked about Patrick’s relationship with his wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi: “The two of them were in love. they were also together…I can’t explain it any other way.”

Patrick wrote about his relationship with his wife in a soon-to-be-released memoir The Time of My Life. It was the book he was working on the last year, and it’s co-written by his wife. ABC News (via Us Weekly) has an early excerpt from the book, and it made me tear up:

“How grateful I am that you chose to love me,” he writes, according to ABC’s Good Morning America, which featured an exclusive audio clip of Swayze reading from his memoir. “I know that because of you, I’ve found my spirit. I saw the man I wanted to be. You are my woman, my lover, my mate and my lady. I loved you forever, I love you now and I will love you forever more.”

[From Us Weekly]

Sigh. I don’t even want to talk about it… so sad. Would anyone like a slightly happier piece of information? Here goes… Keanu Reeves is still pretty dumb. Not to mock him or anything, but his statement on Patrick’s passing was slightly incomprehensible. I’m sure Keanu was grieving, and he and Patrick were probably friends and loved working together and everything, but his statement made me chuckle. Keanu said about filming Point Break: “There was some sky diving sequences in this film we did together and as filming was going on it came to be that Patrick was jumping out of airplanes all the time. I think he had over 30 jumps during the course of filming and so the production served him with a cease and desist which he listened to until they got to Hawaii.” So… what’s that again? No, I joke. I get the story he’s trying to tell, I was just trying to lighten the mood. Keanu also called Patrick a “ beautiful person, an artist.” Then Keanu added, “Patrick, he just wanted to experience life and for his work he wanted to take the opportunity of the film and it gave him that sense.” Hm?

Thanks to CoverAwards for these cover photos

Patrick Swayze passed away on Monday, September 14th after a 20-month long battle with pancreatic cancer. He just turned 57 years old in August, and he was still working on his A&E series The Beast just months ago, as he was going through chemotherapy. Swayze had a reputation in Hollywood as one of the nicest, most decent men around. He always made time for his fans, he was always an utter professional, and according to nearly every story I’ve ever read about the man, he never failed to bring out the best in people. His male fans loved him for his iconic work in films like Road House and Red Dawn. His female fans loved him for his iconic roles in Dirty Dancing and Ghost. Everybody loved him as Bodhi in Point Break. Through his career, he worked on more than 47 films and television projects, and he was nominated for three Golden Globes. Swayze is survived by his wife of 32 years, Lisa.

Patrick Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer Monday. 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 rep tells PEOPLE in a statement.

A gifted dancer, a rugged outdoorsman, a romantic leading man and a loving husband, Swayze was also, as his brother Don put it, “a warrior” in his cancer fight.

The actor continued working on his A&E series The Beast even as he underwent chemotherapy – and never lost hope. About his prognosis, he did admit in a Barbara Walters interview that aired in January, “There’s a lot of fear here. Yeah, I’m scared. Yeah, I’m angry. Yeah, I’m [asking], ‘Why me?’ ”

A month before, Swayze had issued a statement to PEOPLE in regard to speculation about his health, saying that such questions “cast a negative shadow on the positive and good fight I’m fighting.”

Texas Native
One of five children raised in Houston, Texas, by Patsy, a dance teacher, and Jesse, a champion rodeo cowboy, Swayze grew up dancing in his mom’s studio and met his future wife, Lisa Niemi, when the two teenagers were both students there.

It was the beginning of one of Hollywood’s most enduring romances: Swayze and Niemi, 53, were married 32 years.

Over the years, the couple – both pilots who often flew together and who shared a love of horseback riding and the outdoors – would see Swayze’s career take off.

Dirty Dancing and Ghost
After breaking through in 1983′s The Outsiders, he secured a spot in movie romance history with iconic turns in 1987′s Dirty Dancing and 1990′s Ghost. In all his roles, he cited Lisa as an inspiration.

“Lisa and I have built just about every character I’ve done,” he told PEOPLE in 2007. “You have to understand, we have an ease. … We’ve been partners for a long time.”

It was Lisa who proved a “pillar of strength” during the trying past year, said her brother-in-law Don. United in their focus to overcome the awful odds – pancreatic cancer has just a 5 percent survival rate within five years of diagnosis – the couple maintained a fierce determination.

In fall 2008, he told The New York Times that although chemo had been “hell on wheels,” he refused to quit fighting.

“There is probably that little bird that flies through your insides and says, ‘I sure would like to make a mark in life,’” he said. “I’ve made a pretty decent mark so far – nothing to scoff at. But it does make you think: Wait a minute. There’s more I want to do. Lots more. Get on with it.”

[From People]

Within minutes of the announcement, Swayze’s friends, fans and former coworkers took to Twitter to pay their respects. Two of the best comments, in my opinion: “So saddened by this news. RIP dear Patrick, my fellow greaser. You fought the fight like no other. With dignity and grace.” (Ralph Macchio, Swayze’s costar in The Outsiders); “I’ll never forget the electricity I felt when I saw Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing. Even more charismatic in person. A true gentleman. RIP” (Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin). I’m sending my thoughts and prayers to Patrick’s family and friends, and hoping that his death is treated with the respect, dignity and care with which he lived his life.

Here are Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi dancing at the World Music Awards in 1994

And a clip from Ghost

Here are links to clips from Dirty Dancing.
Dirty Dancing – Cry to Me (Movie Segment)
Dirty Dancing – She’s Like the Wind (Clips)
Dirty Dancing – Time of My Life (Final Dance)

Photo Credits: WENN.com and Fame Pictures

Patrick Swayze is hanging in there in his battle against terminal pancreatic cancer. It’s pretty sad how the tabloids are printing details of his personal medical information, as if people are so interested in when and how he’s going to die. Some things should be sacred, especially with someone who has lived as low-key a life as Swayze. Some radio DJs went too far and started a rumor that he had passed, prompting Swayze’s rep to release a statement that it wasn’t true along with a nice picture of his client hanging out on his ranch in New Mexico with his wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi:

The Internet exploded this morning with rumors that the Dirty Dancing star had lost his public battle with pancreatic cancer, but the actor’s rep has quickly corrected the record.

“This is to confirm that Patrick Swayze did not pass away this morning, contrary to severely reckless reports stemming from a radio station in Jacksonville, Fla.,” his publicist, Annett Wolf, says in a statement to E! News.

“Patrick is alive, well and is enjoying his life, and he continues to respond to treatment.”
The rep also released a new photo of Swazye and his wife, Lisa Niemi , taken last week at their New Mexico ranch.

The 56-year-old Beast star has been dogged by rumors of failing health since he made public his diagnosis last year.

The latest round came this morning, when his premature death was reportedly announced on air during a radio news segment on KISS-FM.

Adding to the confusion is that there are two Jacksonville-area radio stations with those call letters, though neither is eager to take credit for the report.

The programming director for 99.9 WKIS-FM, however, has already spoken out denying that the rumor originated on his airwaves.

As for Swayze, the actor is still waiting on another verdict—that of his A&E show.

The Beast did not appear on the cable net’s programming lineup when A&E unveiled its fall schedule last week, but a rep for the network said that a final decision about the show’s future has yet to be made.

[From E! Online]

We don’t often take the high road on CB, that’s not what we’re about, but we have a policy not to publish photos of celebrities at funerals and not to post serious medical details about celebrities unless they or their publicists confirm the news. In Swayze’s case the gossip press has been saying he’s about to keel for months and I’m sorry for putting it so bluntly but that’s what’s they’re doing and it’s not fair to him or his family. He is facing the toughest battle of his life and he doesn’t deserve to go through that and have to deal with all these rumors saying he’s about to die. No matter if that’s true or not he needs to keep his spirits up and those type of stories can only bring him down. How awful to have to hear a story that you’ve died. It’s nice to see this photo and hear that he’s hanging in there. We are thinking of him and rooting for him.

Whoopi Goldberg and Patrick Swayze co-starred together in the hit movie “Ghost,” and Goldberg has spoken many times about her affection for Swayze. Whoopi once said that Patrick was the one who pushed for her to play the role of the kooky psychic Ida Mae Brown in the film. When she heard about Swayze’s battle with pancreatic cancer, Whoopi reached out to her old friend. Recently, she spoke about Patrick’s “good spirits” in an interview, saying that the actor has thrown himself into work and isn’t remotely ready to give up his fight.

Whoopi Goldberg tells Usmagazine.com her cancer-stricken Ghost costar Patrick Swayze is “doing the best he can.”

“He’s kicking butt,” she told Us Monday at the 1st Annual Blossom Ball in NYC. “And, you know, he’s sick. And he, like the rest of us, doesn’t know when it’s going to happen – because it will happen, that he is going to go – but he doesn’t know when or where.”

“His attitude is, why wait for it to happen?” she went on. “So he’s busy as hell.”

Since he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer more than a year ago, the 56-year-old actor — who denied reports in March that he is nearing “the end” — has thrown himself into work.

He’s writing a memoir and filmed the first season of A&E’s crime drama, The Beast, which concludes its season April 23. It remains to be seen whether the show will be picked up.

“As has been the case from day one, it is all about Patrick — in a lot of ways,” A&E President Bob DeBitetto recently told the Associated Press. “It is about his condition, and when and whether he would be up for another grueling production schedule.”

[From Us Magazine]

Whoopi is right about one thing – life is short, and you never know when it’s going to be taken away from you. Patrick definitely has the right attitude and seems to be staying positive. That kind of mind set is so important to the recovery. He has a lot of friends wishing him well who seem confident that he will beat this. I know there are millions of fans who are hoping he pulls through – and I’m one of them. Nobody puts baby in a corner!

Photos of Whoopi Goldberg at the Elton John Oscar Party, Feb. 2009. Photos of Patrick Swayze on the set of his TV show, “The Beast,” in 2008. More recently, Patrick has looked very ill, but we chose not to publish photos of him in that condition. It’s not cool that the paparazzi keep hounding him. Photo credits: Fame.

Patrick and Lisa in 2005
Patrick Swayze, 56, and his wife of 33 years, Lisa Niemi, 52, are writing a book together. Patrick has been battling pancreatic cancer for the past year. He had a bout with pneumonia earlier this month, for which he received treatment in the hospital for about a week. He is now resting comfortably at home and has announced plans to write his memoirs:

Patrick Swayze’s increasingly dramatic story is headed for yet another medium.

The actor and his wife of 23 years, Lisa, “will be collaborating on his memoirs,” Swayze’s rep, Annett Wolf, tells E! News. “There is no further information at this time.”

But what a tale the 56-year-old actor could tell, going from unknown dancer to up-and-comer to full-fledged heartthrob after starring in Dirty Dancing to cult-favorite character in Road House to established leading man
in Ghost to reborn character actor in Donnie Darko to… You get the picture.

And along the way, there were struggles with substance abuse and now, sadly, a battle with pancreatic cancer that has thrown Swayze back into the public eye with a vengeance.

[From E! Online]

OK! Magazine says that Patrick and Lisa writing an “inspirational book” together, and given all the triumphs in Patrick’s life it’s easy to see how his story will be inspirational. One of his biggest successes is his lifelong relationship with Lisa. Patrick and Lisa met 38 years ago when she was just 16 and was taking dance lessons from his mother. He joked that he “robbed the cradle” by dating her as he was 20 at the time. Their love has endured through good times and bad. Swayze told told Barbara Walters that “I have no greater respect for any other human being on this earth like I have for her.”

Swayze’s new gritty crime drama on A&E, “The Beast,” is holding steady in the ratings, with his performance earning praise from critics.

Patrick and Lisa are shown on the set of “The Beast” in Chicago on 7/28/08. Credit: Splash News. They’re also shown at the premiere of his movie “One Last Dance” on 8/23/05. Credit: PRPhotos

Patrick Swayze, who recently admitted that he’s “going through hell” due to his treatment for pancreatic cancer, has been hospitalized for pneumonia, according to US Weekly. A while ago Swayze said reports about the severity of his condition were exaggerated, but he obviously has a weakened immune system due to chemo, and that leaves a person extra exposed to viruses.

Patrick Swayze has been hospitalized for pneumonia, the president of A&E announced at a panel Friday.

“Patrick has asked that I tell you that he has checked himself into the hospital this morning for observation after coming down with pneumonia,” said A&E president and general manager Robert DeBitetto. “As anyone who has had a friend or family member that has undergone treatment for cancer, chemotherapy can take a toll on you immune system. Patrick did want me to tell you that he is very sorry he couldn’t be at panel this morning, but he plans to get back to promoting The Beast as soon as he is back on his feet.”

In a ABC primetime special Wednesday, Swayze, 56, denied that he was on his deathbed but said he may have only two years to live.

“I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking,” said the actor, whose A&E series The Beast premieres next week. “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.”

[From Us Weekly]

Pneumonia can be very dangerous to anyone, but especially if you have cancer. I was in the hospital with a bout of it last winter, and it took months to fight off the lingering effects. Hopefully Patrick got to the hospital early on, which would help his outcome. It’s a miserable thing to go through, but he’s already proved that he’s incredibly tough.

Here’s Swayze on the set of ‘The Beast’ in Chicago on October 30th. Images thanks to Splash.