Before He Was Famous, Patrick Swayze Starred In These Bizarre Commercials
At first glance, the 1981 A&W commercial seen below is unremarkable. On a sunny day at a seaside boardwalk, a group of people sing the praises of the root beer: “Oooh, ooh, that A&W tastes so fine, sends a thrill up my spine! Get that frosty mug sensation!”
But look closer: That roller skater in the background, the one wearing red suspenders and pumping his fists, is a young Patrick Swayze, just a couple of years away from his role in 1983’s The Outsiders and not long before his breakthrough in 1987’s Dirty Dancing.
In a comment on the video, YouTube user Rob Gibilterra said he was in that A&W ad, too, and he named Lisa Niemi, Swayze’s wife, and Christopher Mayer, the Dukes of Hazzard actor, as other costars in the spot.
“That was a really fun commercial,” Gibilterra added. “As I recall, it was filmed in 1981, taking place on the Santa Monica Pier. … So dated now!”
Swayze had already begun acting that by point; he was one of the replacement Danny Zuko actors in the original Broadway run of Grease. He also donned roller skates for the little-seen 1979 musical comedy film Skatetown, U.S.A., alongside TV stars Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Maureen McCormick, Ron Palillo, and Ruth Buzzi.
And Swayze, who died in 2009 at age 57, also showed off his fancy footwork in a 1979 Pabst Blue Ribbon beer commercial, seen above. In that Saturday Night Fever-influenced ad, the actor brushes his hair, dons a totally taupe suit, nearly hits the doorframe on the way out of his apartment, and picks up a young lovely for a night of disco — and, presumably, PBR-guzzling.
Swayze’s A&W and PBR ads might not be the most luminous entries on his filmography, but an actor’s gotta pay the bills, right?
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June 2025
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