Patrick Swayze died Monday after fighting pancreatic cancer for nearly two years, the popular Hollywood film star's publicist said. He was 57.

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"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," his representative said in a statement issued to People magazine.

Variety reported the actor and dancer, who trained with the Harkness and Joffrey ballet schools in New York, died in Los Angeles. The entertainment industry trade newspaper did not say exactly where his last moments were spent.

The Texas native is best known for his roles in the movies "The Outsiders,""Red Dawn,""Dirty Dancing,""Ghost,""Point Break" and "Road House," as well as in the TV miniseries "North and South."

Swayze continued to work after his diagnosis and taped 13 episodes of the A&E drama "The Beast" last year while undergoing treatment for the disease.

He is survived by Lisa Niemi, his wife of 32 years, his mother and a brother, Variety said.

"Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can't ever repay," Whoopi Goldberg, Swayze's co-star in the 1990 film "Ghost," said in a statement to Usmagazine.com.

"I believe in 'Ghost's' message, so he'll always be near."