Actor Patrick Swayze, the romantic leading man of "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," has died at 57 after a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," said a statement released Monday evening by his publicist, Annett Wolf.
The actor came forward with his illness in March 2008, but valiantly continued to work on his new television series, "The Beast."
Swayze said he did not use painkillers while making the series because he feared they would weaken his edgy performance as FBI agent who may be on the wrong side of the law.
Swayze rose to fame during the 1980s by appearing in a number of iconic films: Francis Ford Coppola's "The Outsiders," the ultra-violent Cold War saga "Red Dawn" and "Road House."
But it was his role of bad-boy Johnny Castle in the 1987 film "Dirty Dancing" that forever cemented Swayze as a heartthrob leading man.
The coming-of-age romance co-starring Jennifer Grey, made great use of Swayze's graceful dancing and muscular physique.
The film, which continues to have a place in teenage girls' hearts, was a hit in the summer of 1987 and spawned the Oscar-winning "(I've Had) the Time of my Life" hit song.
The film has since been turned into numerous stage productions and had a 2004 sequel in which Swayze had a cameo.
