Celebs pay tribute to Patrick
2009-09-15 22:23
Los Angeles - Demi Moore led the tributes to Patrick Swayze on Tuesday, saying the Hollywood heart-throb would "forever shine" after losing his long battle with cancer.
Moore starred opposite Swayze in 1990's Oscar-winning romantic drama Ghost as a woman who is watched over by the spirit of her murdered partner, played by Swayze, who died on Monday after complications from his illness.
"Patrick you are loved by so many and your light will forever shine in all of our lives," Moore said in a statement.
"In the words of Sam to Molly: 'It's amazing Molly. The love inside, you take it with you.' I will miss you, Demi," Moore added, in reference to the two lead characters from Ghost.
'Will always be near'
Whoopi Goldberg, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in the movie, said meanwhile that as in the film, Swayze will "always be near".
"Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can't ever repay," Goldberg said.
"I believe in Ghost's message, so he'll always be near," she added.
In the movie, Swayze's slain character has to communicate with Moore via Goldberg, who plays a psychic.
Swayze shot to superstardom in 1987 with Dirty Dancing, a steamy international blockbuster in which he played a dancing teacher to a young wallflower who starts to bloom.
Swayze's co-star, actress Jennifer Grey, described the actor as a "real cowboy with a tender heart".
"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," she told People magazine.
Grey, now aged 49, said Swayze was so fearless doing his own stunts that "it was not surprising to me that the war he waged on his cancer was so courageous and dignified".
A hero
Drew Barrymore, who starred with Swayze in the cult 2001 film Donnie Darko, expressed her shock at learning of her co-star's death during a press conference at the Toronto Film Festival.
"I'm actually finding out about this news at this press conference, so I'm in a bit of a shell-shocked state myself," Barrymore said.
"I feel as though I'm the wrong person to (comment) because it's such a personal thing for people who are close to him, but I met him when I was seven-years-old. He was the nicest man that one could ever, ever know," she said.
"He was a hero to us all from the Outsiders to all the wonderful films that he made. He was a pleasure to work with in Donnie Darko.
"Our blessings are with the people around him that knew him and loved him the best."
In Hollywood meanwhile, flowers were placed on Swayze's star set into the sidewalk on the district's "Walk of Fame" neighbourhood.