The 57 year old actor passed away peacefully with his family by his side at his ranch in the outskirts of Los Angeles. Swayze is best remembered for his leading man portrayals in the blockbuster films Dirty Dancing and Ghost after which he was labelled the sexiest man alive in 1991. The actor was diagnosed with cancer in January 2008, but outlived the prognosis of just several months he received.

Swayze had last spoke to candidly to talk show host Barbara Walters about his prognosis and had said, ‘ I keep my heart and my soul and my spirit open to miracles. One thing I'm not gonna do is chase staying alive, You spend so much time chasing staying alive, you won't live.’ While dancing had always been his passion, due to his injuries he focused all his energy in acting.

His legendary moves in Dirty Dancing are fresh in the minds even today and his love for Molly (Demi Moore) in Ghost is tagged as one of the most romantic films of all time. Both these films were mercilessly copied in Bollywood. Pooja Bhatt copied Dirty Dancing in Holiday and Ghost was remade here as Pyar Ka Saaya. One can gather from these instances that Patrick Swayze was very popular back here in B-town also.

When Whoopi Goldberg, who worked with Swayze in Ghost learnt of his death, she said, "Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can't ever repay." She added, "I believe in Ghost's message, so he'll always be near."

Demi Moore released a statement upon hearing of Swayze's death, ‘Patrick you are loved by so many and your light will forever shine in all of our lives. In the words of Sam to Molly. 'It's amazing Molly. The love inside, you take it with you.' I will miss you.’

After undergoing a battery of tests and procedures, doctors discovered Swayze had stage 4 pancreatic cancer - the most serious level of the disease. Removal by surgery was not an option. Pancreatic cancer often is called a 'silent killer' because symptoms may not appear until the cancer has already reached an advanced stage.

Patrick is survived by his wife of 34 years Lisa.