'Patrick Swayze was a tender-hearted cowboy', says co-star

Actress

Jennifer Grey

, who co-starred with

Patrick Swayze

in monolithic chick flick

Dirty Dancing

has paid an emotional tribute to the late star.

Swayze, 57, died yesterday at his Los Angeles home after he lost his long battle with pancreatic cancer.

His publicist,

Annett Wolf

, said in a statement: "Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months."

She had the time of her life

Leading a slew of accolades from celebrities and actors who co-starred with Swayze in his best-known films, Grey paid tribute to "a real cowboy with a tender heart".

"Patrick was a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace," she said in a statement.

Photos: Patrick Swayze through the years

"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."

Grey, 49, played Swayze's romantic debutante partner Frances "Baby" Houseman in the 1987 movie which rocketed both her and Swayze to superstardom. The film went on to become an international phenomenon and spawned a series of chart-topping hits from its soundtrack.

She's like the wind...

Namely this old chestnut, which, to be fair, is probably one of the cheesiest songs ever written. It may be a gorgonzola-fest, but like it or not, it's a toe-curling torch anthem that still manages to hit those warm and fuzzy areas that other power ballads simply cannot reach:

Gulp. Bring a tear to a glass eye, that could.

"When I think of him, I think of being in his arms when we were kids, dancing, practicing the lift in the freezing lake, having a blast doing this tiny little movie we thought no one would ever see," Grey added.

"My heart goes out to his wife and childhood sweetheart,

Lisa Niemi

, to his mom,

Patsy

, and to the rest of their family."

Nobody puts Baby in a corner

Ironically, legend has it that Swayze was warned not to take up the role of hunky dance guru Johnny Castle, amid fears that the low-budget movie would flop and nosedive his career. Little did they know that all that sultry hot footing and sparky, sultry exchanges between him and Grey would turn the little-known actors into stars.

As Swayze once said, the film was a "phenomenon" that propelled his life into "insanity". "That is the movie that sent my world into hyperspace," he added.

And, of course, it's the film that immortalised the corny line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Corny as it may be, who can argue with a box-office hit that earned Golden Globe nominations for both Grey and swayze, and reaped an impressive $64m at the US box office and $214m worldwide.

'Only weeks to live'

Swayze announced that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2008. Initial tabloid reports speculated that the star had 'only weeks to live'. But the actor continued to work and went on to film US drama series,

The Beast

, in which he played an undercover FBI agent.

Addressing reports about his health earlier this year, he said: "I'd say five years is pretty wishful thinking. 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."

Ghost

Hot on the heels of

Dirty Dancing

's success came 1990 hit movie

Ghost

, in which Swayze played Sam, a man who protects his wife, played by

Demi Moore

, from beyond the grave.

Moore, who played Molly in the movie, paid her own tribute to the late star: "Patrick, you are loved by so many and your light will forever shine in all of our lives.

"I love and will miss you Patrick.'

Whoopi Goldberg

, who also co-starred with Swayze in

Ghost

, said: "Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can't ever repay. I believe in

Ghost

's message, so he'll always be near."

"This was a well fought battle," Goldberg said. "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'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing.'"

An emotional Goldberg added: "To you Lisa, to that relationship," she said.

"Let's hope that

Ghost

was right," she added, quoting the line that Swayze's deceased character utters to his grieving partner in the

Ghost

movie: "It's amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you."

Dirty Dancing

's choreographer,

Kenny Ortega

, also released a statement, saying: "Patrick was a great human being who I knew as a loving son, husband, brother and friend. He was one of the most creative, enjoyable and alive people I knew. He did as much for dancing as any man of our generation.

"Patrick loved life, and had such an enthusiasm for everything he did. If he could climb it, he climbed it. If he could write it, he wrote it. If he could dance it, well, we all know he did. He lived."

Actor

Rob Lowe

- who starred alongside Swayze in 80s flick

Young Blood

- said he felt like he had "lost a brother".

Lowe 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."

Cheers

star

Kirstie Alley

said: "I will always cherish my amazing memories of Patrick. We had so much fun together. Come back soon, Patrick, we need you here on earth."

Keanu Reeves

, who starred with Swayze in

Point Break

, said: "He was a beautiful person, an artist... He just wanted to experience life.

"I can say what I know that he lived life to the fullest. My sympathies and condolences go out to his friends and family."

Here's our pick of some of the best quotes and one-liners from Dirty Dancing, the camp, iconic 80s metaphor for tolerance, coming-of-age, and living your dreams:

"Oh, come on, ladies. God wouldn't have given you maracas if He didn't want you to shake 'em."

"Go back to your playpen, Baby."

"Look, spaghetti arms. This is my dance space. This is your dance space. I don't go into yours, you don't go into mine. You gotta hold the frame."

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

"Now, you'll hurt me if you don't trust me, all right?"

"You just put your pickle on everybody's plate, college boy, and leave the hard stuff to me."

"I want you girls to know if it were not for this man, I'd be standing here dead."

"It's not on the one, it's not the mambo. It's a feeling; a heartbeat."

"My God, it's Cleopatra. I feel like such an asp."

***

Swayze is survived by his high school sweetheart, Niemi, who he wed in 1975.

RIP Swayzey. Here's to his courage, dignity, will and determination to fight the odds while facing his own mortality.

We salute you.

Video: The Time Of My Life

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Pictured: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. Photos AP/Supplied

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