On Air Now
The Smooth Late Show with Martin Collins 10pm - 1am
15 June 2021, 14:42 | Updated: 15 June 2021, 16:51
Patrick Swayze and wife Lisa Niemi took to the stage at the 1994 World Music Awards to give a mind-blowing performance choreographed to Whitney Houston's 'All The Man I Need'.
Patrick Swayze may be well known as one of the best on-screen male dancers, but when paired with his choreographer wife the two are totally unstoppable.
Patrick and Lisa Niemi were at the World Music Awards in Monte Carlo when they gave a beautiful performance televised to millions.
After being introduced by supermodel Claudia Schiffer, the pair appeared on stage and performed a choreographed a dance to Whitney Houston's 'All The Man I Need' in tribute to Whitney, who had won Best Selling Female Pop Artist earlier in the night.
Lisa and Patrick has been dancing together since they were teenagers after meeting when Lisa started taking dancing lessons from Patrick's mother, Patsy at her dance school in Houston.
The two were married in 1975, a year after Lisa graduated from the Houston Ballet Dance Company and four years before Patrick made his acting debut in Skatetown, USA.
The pair pursued dance careers in New York in the seventies and in 2003 Lisa Niemi Swayze wrote, directed and starred in the 2003 film One Last Dance alongside Patrick, a movie based on their experiences as struggling dancers.
While it was surprising that Lisa had no part in the making of Dirty Dancing, Patrick wrote the film's famous song 'She's Like The Wind' in tribute to his wife.
The star later said of the song's lyrics in his biography Patrick Swayze: One Last Dance, “I just felt at the time that I’m very, very lucky to have a woman who thinks I hung the moon.”
Lisa and Patrick were married for 34-years up until his death in 2009 after a 20-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
The pair co-wrote Patrick's memoir The Time Of My Life, charting his career and their lives together, which was released shortly before his death and became a New York Times Best Seller.
Lisa and Patrick's dance at the World Music Awards was an example of how at the time the Monaco-based event was the pinnacle of international glamour.
The World Music Awards were founded in 1989 by Prince Albert of Monaco as a ceremony to honour the best-selling artists from each major territory, and were held each year until 2014.
Nine of the awards on the night were voted for by the public with all proceeds going to building schools, hospitals and orphanages through the Monaco Aide et Presence Foundation.
Patrick Swayze & Wife Dancing At World Music Awards 1994
The most awarded artist in the show's 25-year history was Mariah Carey, with an impressive 19 gongs, including a 'Millennium' award that both she and Michael Jackson were given in 2000 to honour the best-selling recording artists at that time.
Other artists were given the special 'Legend' award, a tribute to those who have made outstanding contributions to the music industry, with past winners including David Bowie, the Bee Gees, Elton John, Prince, Whitney Houston and Diana Ross.
Perhaps the most prestigious of all of the awards given at the Monte Carlo ceremony, however, was the 'Diamond' award, a prize honouring the best-selling artists who had been certified as selling over 100,000,000 albums in their career.
The honour was only ever awarded to six artists in the show's 25-year run, with recipients reading as a who's who of musicals legends.
The six award winners were Rod Stewart (2002), Mariah Carey (2003), Celine Dion (2004), Bon Jovi (2005), Michael Jackson (2006) and the Beatles (2007).
I Am Patrick Swayze Official Trailer