The Time of My Life (32 page)

Patsy Swayze, my proud mama, named me “Patrick Swayze” because she thought it would look good on a marquee. (Photo by Michael Montfort)

Hollywood isn’t just about acting, it’s also about the dog-and-pony show of appearances, interviews, and photo shoots.
Ghost
intensified the whirlwind. (Photo: SGranitz/WireImage/Getty Images)

Lisa and I pose with our Rhodesian Ridgeback Jazz, in front of our beloved Cessna 414 Chancellor. We both got our pilot’s licenses and love to fly.

Swayze with an attitude. (Photo by Peggy Sirota)

With director Roland Joffé on the set of
City of Joy
in Calcutta. India was a land of intense squalor and generosity of spirit, and the shoot was life-changing. (Photo by David Appleby)

My imitation of Miss Kitty on
Gunsmoke
. With John Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes on the set of
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar
. (Getty Images Entertainment)

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s me just starting my skydiving training for
Point Break
with Jim Wallace.

I was lucky to survive my off-airport landing in June 2000. It’s a scary thing to have landed a plane and not remember how you did it. (Getty Images Entertainment)

Lisa, George de la Peña, and I dance in
One Last Dance
, the movie we made based on
Without a Word
. This marked a turning point for Lisa, who directed, wrote, produced, and starred in the film. (WAW Productions LLC)

For my 2009 TV series
The Beast
, I shot thirteen episodes in Chicago while undergoing chemotherapy. Lisa directed my favorite one, “Brother’s Keeper.” (Photo by Amy Holliday Sobin)

At home with Lisa and our dogs—two of whom seem to be enjoying themselves a little too much. (Photo by Joan Lauren)