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Actor Patrick Swayze died on Monday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57. His turn as a smoldering dance instructor in Dirty Dancing made him one of the iconic film stars of the 1980s.

Swayze, an actor and dancer who cemented his status as sex symbol opposite Demi Moore in the 1990 romance Ghost, died at his home.

Swayze became one of Hollywood's top stars with 1987's Dirty Dancing, which defied Hollywood expectations to become one of the most-watched movies of all time.

The Texas-born actor played the swaggering dance instructor Johnny Castle in the film opposite Jennifer Grey's sheltered teenager Frances "Baby" Houseman.

Swayze was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease, in January 2008. He said at the time that the cancer had already spread to his liver.

But he vowed to fight the disease and had treatment with an experimental drug. He even surprised Hollywood by filming a new detective series for television called The Beast in which he played the grueling lead role. The series was broadcast earlier this year.

"I think everybody thought I was out of my mind ... thinking I'm gonna pull off a TV show," Swayze said in an interview in January, adding that he was scared and angry at his diagnosis.

Swayze was working on a memoir with his wife of more than 30 years, Lisa Niemi, earlier this year.

Dirty Dancing, which was made for a modest budget and almost scrapped by its studio, became a massive box-office hit. It earned Golden Globe nominations for both stars and spawned the Oscar-winning hit single (I've Had) The Time of My Life.

Producers did not have high hopes for the film but it reaped $64 million at the US box office and $214 million worldwide.

In 1990, Ghost was an even bigger hit than Dirty Dancing, with a domestic box office take of more than $217 million and $505 million around the world.

Swayze starred as Demi Moore's deceased lover, Sam, in the tear-jerker romance. The film was nominated for a best film Academy Award.

Swayze trained in dance from a young age and performed for New York City ballet companies before moving to Broadway.

After Ghost, Swayze suffered several career setbacks, including a battle with alcohol before his bout with cancer.

Questions:

1. What film made Patrick Swayze one of the most iconic film stars of the 1980s?

2. Who was Swayze working on a memoir with?

3. What role did Swayze play in the film Ghost?

Answers:

1. Dirty Dancing.

2. (His wife of more than 30 years) Lisa Niemi.

3. (Demi Moore's deceased lover) Sam.

（英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.