"I think we were all very moved by the closeness and humor of their relationship," Beast producer John Romano tells PEOPLE in its latest cover story, on sale Friday.
Accompanying her husband, 56, to work every day during the workweek while he was undergoing regular chemotherapy sessions for pancreatic cancer, Lisa, 52, had a tremendous influence on Swayze's work.
"He has said she's half responsible for the creation of [Charles] Barker," says Beast co-creator Vincent Angell of Swayze's FBI agent character on the A&E series, which premieres Thursday.
Creative Partnership
"They're a creative partnership," he adds. "After takes, he would go talk to the director, and then go talk to his wife, and say, 'What do you think?' And she would lean in his ear," says co-creator Bill Rotko, "They're each other's rocks."
Swayze in a scene from The Beast
Jean Whiteside
Beyond her professional skills, Lisa "has a quality about her," says Rotko. "When you're around her, you feel a warmth coming from her. In a cold Chicago winter, that was helpful."
For much more on this story, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday
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