Patrick Swayze Hangs Up His ‘Dirty Dancing’ Shoes

A few hundred shrieking Patrick Swayze fans crammed Planet Hollywood at South Coast Plaza Village on Tuesday night to watch the star surrender his Size 9 1/2 “Dirty Dancing” shoes to the restaurant’s movie-memorabilia wall of fame.

Waiting for Swayze

Fans chomped gum, guzzled beer, tapped their fingers, flicked their tresses, rehearsed screams and eyed excerpts from “Dirty Dancing” while waiting for the star to be limoed from John Wayne Airport to the restaurant. He was 45 minutes late.

Dancing Shoes

“These shoes are hard to part with; I will only part with them if you let me come see them once in a while,” Swayze, 38, told his screaming fans during the ceremony. “A lot of time, pain and energy went into these shoes to make something special.”

Said his leather-clad wife, platinum blond actress/dancer Lisa Niemi: “For Patrick to part with these shoes is something else. These shoes mean more to him than any other pair he has ever owned.”

The Truth About Dirty Dancing

Do the married-for-17-years couple do their share of, ahem, dirty dancing? (You know--that sensuous, hip-grinding movement that makes a couple look like they’ve been dipped in Krazy Glue.)

“We don’t get to dance much,” Niemi said at the private, post-ceremony party held on the mezzanine. “When we get on a dance floor in a public place, suddenly we’re on display. It’s impossible to cut loose and really enjoy ourselves.” (The couple will co-star next year in the movie “Without a Word.”)

Is it a difficult dance movement to learn? “Not at all,” Niemi said. “The thing that’s difficult is to look as good as Patrick does when he does it. Not many people can do that.”

Said a humble Swayze: “You just have to work hard, real hard.”

Embarrassing Moment

He kissed them, hugged them, thanked them, even posed with them for pictures--but do you think his fans could give him a break when he popped into the mezzanine elevator for a ride to the men’s room? Not. They jumped in beside him, begging for more.

Those keeping their respectful distance were glad Swayze would have a moment of peace when the elevator door closed.

But it was not to be. The elevator was stuck with the door wide open. So, the star of “Ghost” and “City of Joy” stood there, looking sheepish, waiting . But nothing worked.

What to do? Rejoin the crowd and kiss them, hug them, thank them, pose with them for pictures. To heck with nature.

Quote

Does party-goer Ted Segerstrom dirty dance? “Only in my dreams.” And his wife, Peggy? “Only in his dreams.”