Actor Patrick Swayze died yesterday of pancreatic cancer.

Swayze, 57, died “peacefully” with his family at his side, Swayze’s publicist, Annett Wolf, said in a statement published by the Associated Press.

Although Swayze’s memorable movie roles in Dirty Dancing and Ghost ingratiated him into the hearts and minds of legions of fans, he will also be remembered for the awareness he helped raise about pancreatic cancer — a rare, but stealthy disease.

Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2008. He is survived by his wife, actress/dancer Lisa Niemi.

Patrick Wayne Swayze was born on August 18, 1952, in Houston, Texas. His father was an engineering draftsman; his mother was a ballet dancer and later the director of the Houston Ballet Dance Company.
Swayze’s career diminished in the late ’90s. He broke both legs in 1997 while making a film, “Letters From a Killer,” and went into rehab to overcome an admitted drinking problem.

Swayze’s more recent films included a TV version of “King Solomon’s Mines” and 2007’s “Christmas in Wonderland.”
Though he still had the power to make women’s hearts flutter — 22-year-old Scarlett Johansson, upon receiving Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Award in February 2007, said her dream date was “probably Patrick Swayze, my dream come true” — Swayze wasn’t too impressed with himself.
“Good-looking people turn me off,” he once said. “Myself included.”

Swayze is survived by his wife, Lisa, of over 30 years and his mother, Patsy.