17. He never let his illness put him down.
He was diagnosed Stage IV pancreatic cancer in mid-January 2008, but he decided to face the battle. In fact, he refused to use painkillers while filming “The Beast” for fear it would slow down his performance.
18. He keeps a positive mind in everything.
“I bet you I can hang on for a long time. Be around to hassle people for a while. I’ve pulled off 10 months when most people would have been dead long before now.” via contactmusic.com
19. He died on September 14, 2009. More than two years later, he was honoured through a wax figure of him at Hollywood’s Madame Tussauds.
He has been immortalised in a log-dancing scene from his hit film, Dirty Dancing. The figure was unveiled by his widow, Lisa Niemi last October 18, 2011.
20. His sexiness and humour will live on.
He still enjoyed the attention of female fans over 20 years after the release of his movie, Dirty Dancing.
“I’ve still got 18-year-old girls hugging me. And I constantly have some old lady pinching me on the rear. I turn around and see blue hair running back to a group of other blue hairs, going, ‘I did it, Martha! I pinched him!'”