Vincent Schiavelli, who appeared in more than 150 movies and countless TV shows is dead of lung cancer at the young age of 57.

Schiavelli had that unique look and acting ability that made him one of the most sought after character actors in the business. Whatever TV show or movie role he was in, you could guarantee that Vincent would steal every scene, not by purpose or intent, but by the sheer magnitude of his talent and uniqueness. The camera loved him and it was obvious by his illustrious career that he loved the camera.

He was not pigeon-holed or type-cast, even though many a Hollywood exec tried to tie him down to just one genre or character type. Vincent’s roles ranged from a mental patient in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” to high school teacher Mr. Vargas in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He starred in high drama in “Amadeus” to low-brow comedy in “Better Off Dead.” However, the film he will probably be most noted for was his brief, but scene-stealing role as the paranoid cigarette-junkie subway ghost in the Demi Moore/Patrick Swayze vehicle “Ghost.”

In 1997 Vanity Fair voted him as one of America’s best character actors.

Aside from acting Vincent wrote three cookbooks, and highly sought after food articles for magazines and newspapers.

Although born in the United States, Vincent resided and died in his beloved Polizzi Generosa, the Sicilian village where he resided.

Funeral services will be held on December 27th in Polizzi Generosa.