Dirty Dancing film star Patrick Swayze has died aged 57, his publicist says.

Annett Wolf said that the US actor, who had been battling pancreatic cancer for nearly two years, died with family at his side on Monday.

Swayze was diagnosed with advanced stage four pancreatic cancer in January last year.

The actor had been starring in US TV show The Beast since being diagnosed with the disease. He had also planned to write a memoir with his wife.

“Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months,” said a statement by Annett Wolf.

Jennifer Grey, who co-starred with Swayze in Dirty Dancing, said in a statement: “Patrick was a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace. Gorgeous and strong, he was a real cowboy with a tender heart.

“He was fearless and insisted on always doing his own stunts, so it was not surprising to me that the war he waged on his cancer was so courageous and dignified.”

Rob Lowe, who played in a number of films with Swayze, said: “Patrick lived a thousand lifetimes in one lifetime. He was an expert dancer, he wrote hit songs, he starred in hit movies, he was an amazing horseman.

“But the thing I will remember him most for was his amazing love affair with his wife Lisa.”

Demi Moore has also paid tribute to her co-star in the hit film Ghost, saying: “Patrick you are loved by so many and your light will forever shine in all of our lives.”

She added: “I love and will miss you Patrick.”

California governor and former Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger called Swayze a “talented and passionate artist who struck a memorable chord with audiences throughout the world.”

“He played a wide range of characters both on stage and in movies and his celebrated performances made the hard work of acting look effortless - which I know from experience is not easy,” he said.

Swayze’s dream

In January, Swayze admitted he might only have two years to live, but denied he was near death.

In a US TV interview, he admitted he was “scared” and “going through hell”.

“Am I dying? Am I giving up? Am I on my death bed? Am I saying goodbye to people? No way,” Swayze told TV interviewer Barbara Walters.

“I keep dreaming of a future, a future with a long and healthy life, not lived in the shadow of cancer but in the light,” he said.

The film star’s biographer, Wendy Leigh, who wrote the book Patrick Swayze One Last Dance, said he had endured physical pain throughout his life.

‘Determined’

“As a high school athlete he injured his knee tremendously badly, yet he still carried on playing football,” she said.

“As a dancer he had all sorts of injuries and Patrick learnt to live with pain, to fight pain.

“When he got diagnosed with this awful, awful disease he was determined to fight it and actually he lived far longer than most people who are diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, which was what Patrick had.”

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most virulent forms of cancer which medical experts say has a 5% five-year survival rate.

Source (article): BBC

Source (pictures): POPULAR-CULTURE, KSTT, TVGASM

(CNN) — Farrah Fawcett, the blonde-maned actress whose best-selling poster and “Charlie’s Angels” stardom made her one of the most famous faces in the world, died Thursday. She was 62.

Fawcett’s death was confirmed by Paul Bloch, one of her representatives at Rogers and Cowan, an entertainment public relations firm.

Fawcett, who checked into a hospital in early April, had been battling anal cancer on and off for three years.

Bloch told CNN that Ryan O’Neal, Fawcett’s romantic partner since the mid-1980s, and her friend Alana Stewart were with Fawcett at Saint John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California, when she died.

“Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world,” O’Neal said in a written statement.

He had recently told People magazine that the sex symbol was declining.

“She stays in bed now. The doctors see that she is comfortable. Farrah is on IVs, but some of that is for nourishment. The treatment has pretty much ended,” he said in a story posted May 7.

Fawcett’s cancer journey has been documented in a television special partly shot by the actress. Fawcett began shooting “Farrah’s Story,” by taking a camera to a doctor’s appointment. Eventually, the film expanded to include trips overseas in hopes of treating the cancer.

The documentary aired on NBC on May 15.

Fawcett’s beauty — her gleaming smile was printed on millions of posters — initially made her famous. But she later established herself as a serious actress. She starred as a battered wife in the 1984 TV movie “The Burning Bed.” She appeared on stage as a woman who extracts vengeance from a would-be rapist in William Mastrosimone’s play “Extremities.”

She reprised the “Extremities” role on film in 1986. Other Fawcett films include “Logan’s Run” (1976), “Saturn 3″ (1980), “The Cannonball Run” (1981), “The Apostle” (1997) and the Robert Altman-directed “Dr. T and the Women” (2000).

To many, Fawcett will always be best known for her red-swimsuited image on the pinup poster, which sold a reputed 12 million copies after its release in 1976.

Fawcett was a model best known for bit parts, commercials and as “Six Million Dollar Man” actor Lee Majors’ wife when she shot the poster in early 1976 at the behest of Pro Arts, a Cleveland, Ohio, company.

Photographer Bruce McBroom placed Fawcett — then known as Farrah Fawcett-Majors — in the Indian blanket-draped front seat of his 1937 Chevy and snapped away. Fawcett did her own hair — a long, tousled cascade of blonde locks — picked out the red bathing suit and chose the frame later used for the poster, according to a story in the Toronto Star.

The poster, with Fawcett’s million-dollar smile front and center, became a sensation.

Soon after the photo shoot, Fawcett was asked to join the cast of a new Aaron Spelling TV show, “Charlie’s Angels,” about a trio of female detectives who work for a mysterious man named Charlie, whose only appearance in the show was through his voice (supplied by John Forsythe).

Fawcett, who played Jill Munroe, was the last to be cast. Co-star Kate Jackson was the known name at the time, but thanks to her poster, Fawcett became the breakout star.

The highly rated TV series kicked off what came to be known as “jiggle TV,” series full of pretty actresses who appeared in bikinis at the drop of a hat.

“Denunciations of ‘massage parlor television’ and ‘voyeurism’ only brought more viewers to the screen, to see what the controversy was about,” wrote Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh about “Charlie’s Angels” in their indispensable reference, “The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows.”

ABC’s “Three’s Company” and CBS’s “The American Girls” were among the shows that immediately followed, and shows such as “Baywatch” owe “Charlie’s Angels” a debt.

But Fawcett didn’t stay with “Angels” long. At the end of the first season, unhappy with her contract, she left the show and was replaced by Cheryl Ladd.

Fawcett’s career stagnated for a time after “Charlie’s Angels.” She appeared in a handful of forgettable films and divorced Majors.

But her career received a major boost with her starring role in “The Burning Bed,” a 1984 TV movie co-starring Paul Le Mat. Fawcett played an abused wife who sets fire to her husband’s bed as he lies sleeping. Fawcett received an Emmy nomination for her performance.

Fawcett also became romantically involved with O’Neal around this time. The pair had a son, Redmond, in 1985.

In recent years, Fawcett has appeared sporadically in the public eye. She posed nude for Playboy in 1995. In 1997, she appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” an interview that became notorious for Fawcett’s apparent incoherence. She later said she was just having fun with Letterman.

She reunited with her “Charlie’s Angels” co-stars, Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, for an awards show in 2006.

Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1947. She married Majors in 1973; they divorced nine years later.

She was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.

Source (article): CNN

Source (picture): GRANEYANDTHEPIG, CELEBRITYSMACKBLOG

SOUTHLAKE — From the flowers to the banquet hall, donations poured in to give a North Texas bride the wedding of her dreams.

At Paradise Cove, which is on the shore of Lake Grapevine, family and friends came to celebrate the wedding of nine-year-old Jayla Cooper. The ceremony was put together in less than one week.

“We didn’t expect to do this when she was nine years old, but she has taught us all how to love each other and to be strong,” said Lisa Cooper, Jayla’s mother.

Jayla has battled leukemia for the past two years. It’s a battle that will likely end in a few weeks.

“He is very cute and I love him,” Jayla said of the groom, Jose Griggs.

Jose and Jayla met at Children’s Medical Center and quickly formed a strong bond.

“He knows what’s going on,” said Charla Griggs, Jose’s mother. “He understands that she is going to a better place.”

The young boy’s parents said Jayla helped their son with his own battle with illness.

“He’s brighter, happier and more content with all that they go through in the hospital,” said Lawrence Griggs, Jose’s father. “She changed that, brought it all out [and] opened up a side of him I hadn’t seen.”

The symbolic wedding was a celebration of life and friendship.

“I can’t explain how I feel right now,” Cooper said. “I’m happy, but at the at same time I am sad because I know my child is going to go to heaven with the Lord.”

Cooper said she is ready to cherish the time she has remaining with her daughter — and has a message for other parents.

“Show your kids that you love them every moment of your life because you never know,” she said.

A fund has been set up in Jayla Cooper’s name at the Grace Community Health Clinic, which can be reached at 817-305-4650 or visit www.gracegrapevine.org.

SOURCE: WFAA.COM