Patrick Swayze Dies at 57

Pop culture Icon and movie star Patrick Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer and died at on Monday at the age of 57. Swayze passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles ranch with his family by his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months.

Swayze will always be remembered by generations and generations to come for his role in "Dirty Dancing","Ghost", aswell as his break out role in the "Outsiders".

Demi Moore, who played Swayze's fiancee in "Ghost," wrote: "Patrick you are loved by so many and your light will forever shine in all of our lives."

Whoopi Goldberg, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in Ghost, said "Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can't ever repay, I believe in Ghost's message, so he'll always be near."

Swayze's co-star, actress Jennifer Grey, now 49, described the actor as a "real cowboy with a tender heart". "When I think of him, I think of being in his arms when we were kids, dancing, practicing the lift in the freezing lake, having a blast doing this tiny little movie we thought no one would ever see," she told People magazine. Grey also added that Swayze was so fearless doing his own stunts that "it was not surprising to me that the war he waged on his cancer was so courageous and dignified".

Back in Hollywood, flowers and cards were placed on Swayze's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is on Hollywood Boulevard outside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Swayze was married since 1975 to wife Lisa Niemi, a fellow dancer who took lessons with his mother; they met when he was 19 and she was 16.

Swayze was truly a talented actor, from the misunderstood bad boy Johnny Castle in "Dirty Dancing", a rowdy bouncer in "Road House, to a drag queen Vida Boheme in"To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar," Patrick Swayze will definitely be missed.

Check out the Tributes of Patrick Swayze's Life and Performances below.

NBC "TODAY" pays Tribute to Patrick Swayze


Patrick Swayze Movie Clips Tribute