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Rick Aviles (October 14, 1952 – March 17, 1995) was an American stand-up comedian and actor of Afro-Puerto Rican descent, who is best remembered for the role of Willie Lopez in the film Ghost. Aviles' parents moved from Puerto Rico to the United States in the late 1940s. They lived in Manhattan, New York City, where Aviles was born. He was raised in the Lower East Side and at times got himself into trouble. One of his assets was that he had a comical side to him. Aviles' siblings Angel Aviles and Rod Reyes are also in the arts and entertainment fields. In the 1970s and 1980s, Aviles... MORE

Rick Aviles (October 14, 1952 – March 17, 1995) was an American stand-up comedian and actor of Afro-Puerto Rican descent, who is best remembered for the role of Willie Lopez in the film Ghost. Aviles' parents moved from Puerto Rico to the United States in the late 1940s. They lived in Manhattan, New York City, where Aviles was born. He was raised in the Lower East Side and at times got himself into trouble. One of his assets was that he had a comical side to him. Aviles' siblings Angel Aviles and Rod Reyes are also in the arts and entertainment fields. In the 1970s and 1980s, Aviles worked as a stand-up comedian on the Greenwich Village night-club circuit in New York. In 1981, he landed the role of Mad Dog in the film Cannonball Run. He went on to act in fourteen more film productions. In 1987, Aviles landed a small part as the maintenance man in the film The Secret of My Success, starring Michael J. Fox. That same year he became the host of It's Showtime at the Apollo, and continued as host until 1991. In 1990, Aviles landed his most memorable role. He was cast as Willie Lopez, Sam Wheat's killer, in the film Ghost. The film was a smash hit at the box office and received multiple LESS