Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into moviegoers' hearts with "Dirty Dancing" and then broke them with "Ghost," died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

"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. Swayze died in Los Angeles, Wolf said, but declined to give further details.

Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer. He kept working despite the diagnosis, putting together a memoir with his wife and shooting "The Beast," an A&E drama series for which he had already made the pilot.

Swayze said he opted not to use painkilling drugs while making "The Beast" because they would have taken the edge off his performance. The show drew a respectable 1.3 million viewers when the 13 episodes ran in 2009, but A&E said it had reluctantly decided not to renew it for a second season.

When he first went public with the illness, some reports gave him only weeks to live, but his doctor said his situation was "considerably more optimistic" than that. Swayze acknowledged that time might be running out given the grim nature of the disease.

"I'd say five years is pretty wishful thinking," Swayze told ABC's Barbara Walters in early 2009. "Two years seems likely if you're going to believe statistics. I want to last until they find a cure, which means I'd better get a fire under it."

C. Thomas Howell, who co-starred with Swayze in "The Outsiders," "Grandview U.S.A." and "Red Dawn", said: "I have always had a special place in my heart for Patrick. While I was fortunate enough to work with him in three films, it was our passion for horses that forged a friendship between us that I treasure to this day. Not only did we lose a fine actor today, I lost my older `Outsiders' brother."

Other celebrities used Twitter to express condolences, and "Dirty Dancing" was the top trending topic for a while Monday night, trailed by several other Swayze films.

Ashton Kutcher - whose wife, Demi Moore, co-starred with Swayze in "Ghost" - wrote: "RIP P Swayze." Kutcher also linked to a YouTube clip of the actor poking fun at himself in a classic "Saturday Night Live" sketch, in which he played a wannabe Chippendales dancer alongside the corpulent - and frighteningly shirtless - Chris Farley.

And Larry King wrote: "Patrick Swayze was a wonderful actor & a terrific guy. He put his heart in everything. He was an extraordinary fighter in his battle w Cancer." King added that he'd do a tribute to Swayze on his CNN program Tuesday night.

Biography for Patrick Swayze

Date of Birth: 18 August 1952, Houston, Texas, USA
Birth Name: Patrick Wayne Swayze
Height: 5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography:
His mother is choreographer Patsy Swayze, owner of a dance school in Houston, where Patrick was also a student. His father was Jesse Wayne Swayze, who passed away in 1982. He graduated from Waltrip High School in Houston, Texas and attended San Jacinto College. He married actress/dancer Lisa Niemi on June 12, 1975, whom he had known when she was 15 and a student at his mother's dance school. His New York City dance training included the Harkness Ballet School and Joffrey Ballet School. He first danced professionally as "Prince Charming" in "Disney on Parade". After a stint as "Danny Zuko" in the original Broadway production of "Grease", he made his film debut as "Ace" in Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979). Eight years later, after considerable movie and television work, including choreography for Grandview, U.S.A. (1984), he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as dance instructor "Johnny Castle" in the smash hit Dirty Dancing (1987). He received a second nomination for his portrayal of the ghost "Sam Wheat" in another box office champion, Ghost (1990). He was a solidly established box office star throughout the nineties. In December 2003, he returned to Broadway as a replacement for the lead role of "Billy Flynn" in the acclaimed revival of Kander & Ebb's musical "Chicago". The production also went on tour in several cities of the US, including Los Angeles. In January 2008, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He is optimistic about his recovery, and he continues to work on projects.