Patrick Swayze, 1952-2009

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 in New York. The 1990 film "Ghost" cemented his status as a screen favorite. Swayze played a murdered man trying to communicate with his fiancée through a spirit played by Whoopi Goldberg.