Patrick Swayze has died after a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
Swayze's publicist Annett Wolf says the 57-year-old "Dirty Dancing" actor died Monday with family at his side. He came forward about his illness last spring, but continued working as he underwent treatments.
It was 1987 when Swayze became a star with his performance in "Dirty Dancing," a coming-of-age story set in a Catskills resort. The 1990 film "Ghost" cemented his status as a screen favorite.
Swayze played a murdered man trying to communicate with his fiancee through a spirit played by Whoopi Goldberg.
He kept on working even after it was disclosed in March 2008 that he had a particularly deadly form of cancer. He starred in "The Beast," an A&E drama series, and said he and his wife were working on a memoir.
Critics said Swayze was erratic in his choice of roles, reports CBS Radio's Karyn Regal. He said true actors needed to take chances.
Swayze also didn't want his head to swell over being declared People Magazine's "sexiest man alive" in 1991 - a title earned after his erotic pottery scene in "Ghost," Regal reports. But for many of his fans, that's the image that will live on.
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