Undoubtedly, you know that actor Patrick Swayze died today at age 57 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. And so we offer this quick tribute to Swayze and the iconic cars he drove during his career.
For starters, there's the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Hardtop Coupe from Dirty Dancing (1987). You can watch a nice (but non-embeddable) clip of Swayze pulling away in the Bel Air after the tearful good-bye with Baby here.
In Road House (1989), a film loved only by Editor in Chief Scott Oldham, Swayze drove this 1965 Buick Riviera, which would have had a 401-cid V8.
We know it's a '65, because that was the only year that had clamshell covers over the headlights. And if you watched, you know that Swayze's character (James Dalton, a bouncer) liked the covers because they would keep people from smashing his headlights.
Dalton also drove an '86 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC, which had the 5.6-liter (5,547cc), 2-valve V8. The trailer for Road House shows Swayze driving the Benz, and you can watch it after the jump.
LA Times: Patrick Swayze dies at 57
Swayze even drove an 18-wheeler in a little-known movie called Black Dog (1998).
Finally, there's The Beast, the A&E TV series that Swayze made while dealing with cancer. He starred in it as an undercover FBI agent and he drove a Cadillac STS-V, which you get a glimpse of in the trailer. The Beast was cancelled in June after 13 episodes aired.
SnakeDoctor says:
10:55 AM, 09/15/09
Great post Erin.
As I just told you in the office, Road House was an underrated movie with perhaps the greatest fight scene ever!
charlesb says:
12:16 PM, 09/15/09
Poor Patrick, first exploited by the National Enquirer in life and now Edmunds makes a tribute to "his screen cars" in death. At least Mr. Swayze isn't big enough to make the casket shot worth anything...that'll have to pass for a silver lining in this situation.
smilez says:
12:51 PM, 09/15/09
Honestly charlesb?
How would an automtive vessel celebrate the life of an iconic actor? Yes, talk about the cool cars he drove. Maybe show a video or three of the cars he drove.
What is it exactly that edmunds did wrong here? Exploitation? Wow, I'm not sure you could have taken a bigger leap than that one.
He'll be missed, not just for the vehicles he drove, but by far and away one of the top three skits to come out of S&L, the Chipendales skit with another gone actor Chris Farley.
Agreed Snake Doctor, but I would add an 's' to that. Scene's'. Good movie
desmolicious says:
02:33 PM, 09/15/09
RoadHouse - best bouncer flick EVAH!
And who knew that Mustang convertible drivin' Ben Gazzara was such a bad a$$!
cwc1 says:
06:06 PM, 09/15/09
I remember him best in the North and South miniseries, although he didn't get to drive any cars in that one. A subtitle here could be, The horses Patrick Swayze rode.
Nevertheless, what a sad news item.
briancam says:
06:56 PM, 09/15/09
This is a great idea - I wish I'd thought of it. Excellent post!!