Actors - Rick Aviles

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	Actors - Rick Aviles

Rick Aviles, (born Richard Anthony Aviles) October 14, 1952 - March 17, 1995, was a stand-up comedian who is best remembered for the role of Willie Lopez in the movie Ghost
.

Rick's parents emigrated from Puerto Rico to the United States in the late 1940s looking for a better way of life. They settled in Manhattan, New York City, where Rick was born. He was raised in a tough neighborhood and at times got himself into trouble. One of his assets was that he had a comical side to him.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Rick worked as a stand-up comedian in the Greenwich Village night club circuit in New York. In 1981, he auditioned and landed the role of Mad Dog in the movie Cannonball Run. Since then, he was to participate in 14 movies.

In 1987, Rick landed a small part as the "maintenance man", in the movie The Secret of My Success
, starring Michael J. Fox. The same year he became the host of It's Showtime at the Apollo, and continued as host until 1991.

In 1990, Rick auditioned and landed his most memorable role. He was cast as Willie Lopez, a killer, in the movie Ghost. The movie was a smash hit at the box office and received multiple Oscar nominations. Beside Rick, Ghost included the participation of Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg.

Rick also participated in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III
(1990) as Mask #1; Brian DePalma's Carlitos Way (1993) as "Quiqueya", starring Al Pacino; in Waterworld
(1995) as the Gatesman, starring Kevin Costner and in Joe's Apartment
(1996) as the voice of a cockroach.

Among the television series in which he appeared are Mr. & Mrs. Dracula
(1980), The Day Women Got Even (1980), The Carol Burnett Show (1991) and Stephen King's The Stand (1994).

Having contracted HIV via heroin abuse, Rick Aviles died on March 17, 1995 in Los Angeles, California, from AIDS.

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