'Dirty Dancing,' 'Ghost' star Patrick Swayze dies at 57

 

After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Patrick Swayze has passed away at the age of 57.

The sad news was conveyed, as sad news so often is these days, by TMZ.

Swayze was first diagnosed with the cancer in January of 2008, but his fight didn't prevent him from starring in a full season of A&E's "The Beast," earning strong reviews for what turned out to be his final performance. 

"We are saddened by the loss of one of our generation's greatest talents and a member of the A&E family," the cable network says in a statement. "Patrick's work on 'The Beast' was an inspiration to us all. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with his wife Lisa and his entire family during this difficult time."

A classically trained dancer, whose background included work with the Harkness Ballet School and the Joffrey Ballet School, Swayze briefly appeared on Broadway in "Grease" before transitioning to television and film, with increasingly prominent roles in "The Outsiders," "Red Dawn" and the miniseries smash "North and South."

Swayze moved onto Hollywood's A-list with Golden Globe-nominated turns in "Dirty Dancing," plus lead roles in "Point Break" and "Road House." He would later be nominated for a third Golden Globe for 1995's "To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar."

He was even named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 1991.

In addition to "The Beast," Swayze's recent credits included "Powder Blue,"  "Donnie Darko" and "Green Dragon."

Swayze had been married to wife Lisa Niemi since 1975.