Early life

Swayze was born in Houston, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, the middle son of Patsy Yvonne Helen (née

Married and maiden names

A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Karnes; born 1927), a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer, and Jesse Wayne Swayze (1925–1982), an engineering drafter. He is a younger brother of actor Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze

Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...

 and of sister Vicky Lynn, and the older brother of Sean Kyle and adopted sister Bora Song (nicknamed Bambi). He is a sixth cousin once removed of commentator John Cameron Swayze

John Cameron Swayze

John Cameron Swayze was a popular news commentator and game show panelist in the United States during the 1950s.- Early life :...

, and a relative of noted Texas Revolution

Texas Revolution

The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...

 soldier Henry Karnes.

Film career

In 2010, Swayze guest-starred in six episodes in a recurring role as Gus, a werewolf, on the HBO series True Blood

True Blood

True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...

". He was Col. Sherman Rutherford in a Western-Film Noir hybrid called Heathens and Thieves. This film is now in post-production.

His film work includes an appearance as a dancer in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy

Urban Cowboy

Released as a 2× vinyl record album, re-released on CD in 1995.Side A:#Hello Texas – Jimmy Buffett #All Night Long – Joe Walsh #Times Like These – Dan Fogelberg #Nine Tonight – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band...

, as Ruben in the film, Father for Charlie, and as Mark in the film Shy People

Shy People

Shy People is a critically acclaimed 1987 American drama about two branches of a family that reunite with tragic results, starring Barbara Hershey, Jill Clayburgh, and Martha Plimpton. It was directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, written by Konchalovsky, Marjorie David and Gerard Brach, and features...

. He also starred as the Alamo courier James Bonham in Alamo...Price of Freedom, an IMAX film shown in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

.

Swayze's television work includes multiple appearances in Murder She Wrote, NYPD Blue

NYPD Blue

NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

, Days of Our Lives

Days of our Lives

Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

, NCIS

NCIS (TV series)

NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...

, as well as dozens of other programs. Swayze had a role as a mentally handicapped man suspected of murder in an episode of the television drama Matlock

Matlock (TV series)

Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0644099/. He also made several appearances on the HBO drama Carnivàle

Carnivàle

Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes...

, as well as Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...

, specifically the episodes "The Big Game" and "Revelations", in which he played Charles Hankel, the father and alternate personality of serial killer Tobias Hankel. On Cold Case. Swayze played the adult Grant Hall.
He is currently appearing in The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...

and "Days of Our Lives

Days of our Lives

Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

". Swayze had a small guest appearance on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...

as a crazy boat captain. He has also appeared on Beyond Belief.

Stage career

In 2001, Don was on stage as Pedro in "Man of La Mancha" at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. In 2005, he played Roy in "Lone Star" at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. He is currently in a play with Anne Archer called, "Jane Fonda: In the Court of Public Opinion", at the Edgemar Theater in Santa Monica, Ca. He is playing U.S. Army Sgt. Don Simpson (retired), a veteran of the Vietnam War!

Personal life

Swayze has a daughter, Danielle (born 1988), with his ex-wife Marcia. Don is an avid skydiver and cyclist and races Cross Country Mountain Bikes in his spare time.

External links

• Official site
• DON SWAYZE DEMO REEL http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgrgxo_don-swayze-demo-reel_shortfilms