RIP: Patrick Swayze

Actor Patrick Swayze died today after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, according to the Associated Press. He was 57 years old.

Swayze, best known for his portrayal of bad-boy Johnny Castle in the '80s coming-of-age flick "Dirty Dancing", announced in March 2008 he had one of the more deadly cancers. The one-years survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 20 percent, and the five-year survival rate is only about 4 percent.

Swayze earned three Golden Globe nominations, for "Dirty Dancing" (1987), "Ghost" (1990) and 1995's "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar." Those three movies alone exemplify something few probably think of when they think of Swayze: his versatility. He wasn't afraid to play the sensitive guy in "Ghost", the dancing bad boy with a heart of gold in "Dirty Dancing" (come on, who didn't fall in love with him in that movie?) or even a drag queen in "To Wong Foo". He shocked the hell out of critics and audiences alike with that last choice in particular, but managed to pull it off in a surprisingly entertaining comedy.

Though I was born the year after "Dirty Dancing" was released, I've watched it more times than I can count and loved his performance. His dancing was just outstanding — masculine, controlled and technically brilliant. It's not surprising, considering his mother is famed choreographer Patsy Swayze.

Swayze was an avid conservationist off-screen, who was deeply moved by time spent in Africa.

Though I'm sure we all knew his death was inevitable (even Swayze himself addressed his mortality in television appearances this past year), it's still sad to lose such a talented actor, phenomenal dancer and beautiful spirit. He will truly be missed.