# Rick Aviles
**Rick Aviles** (Richard Anthony Aviles; October 14, 1952 – March 17, 1995) was an American stand-up comedian and character actor from New York, best remembered as Willie Lopez, the killer in *Ghost* (1990)[1](http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2002033273) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258376-Rick-Aviles?isMiscCredit=False). A Puerto Rican comic from the [Lower East Side](https://www.edgepedia.org/lower-east-side) who began as a street performer in [Greenwich Village](https://www.edgepedia.org/greenwich-village), he moved through small film and television parts in the 1980s into supporting roles in major studio releases, and died in Los Angeles at 42 shortly before the release of *Waterworld*[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-04-ol-1116-story.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and dates | Richard Anthony Aviles; born 1952, New York; died March 17, 1995[1](http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2002033273) |
| Defining role | Willie Lopez, the murderer in *Ghost* (1990)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258376-Rick-Aviles?isMiscCredit=False) |
| Comedy background | Street shows in Washington Square Park from the mid-1970s; Village Voice "Comic of the Year," 1980[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/) • [5](https://freshairarchive.org/guests/rick-aviles) |
| Television | Host of *It's Showtime at the Apollo* (1987–1991, occasional); HBO's *One Night Stand*; the miniseries *The Stand* (1994)[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/) |
| 1990 double | Small supporting roles in two of that year's Best Picture nominees, *Ghost* and *The Godfather Part III*[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/) |
| Screen span | *The Cannonball Run* (released June 19, 1981, as Mad Dog) to *Waterworld* (released July 28, 1995, as Gatesman)[7](http://www.soonerfb.com/pplPerson.aspx?PID=32789) |
| Cause of death | Reported as heart failure by *Variety*; IMDb records an AIDS-related pulmonary embolism[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/) |
## Early life and stand-up career
Aviles was born in Manhattan in 1952[1](http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2002033273). He entered comedy as a street performer, doing shows in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, and was performing stand-up by the mid-1970s[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-04-ol-1116-story.html). In 1980 the *Village Voice* named him "Comic of the Year."[5](https://freshairarchive.org/guests/rick-aviles)
His stage persona carried over directly into his screen work. The *Los Angeles Times* described him in 1993 as a raspy-voiced former street comic, and Rotten Tomatoes characterizes his screen presence as a "kinetic comic persona" applied to supporting roles[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-04-ol-1116-story.html) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/rick_aviles).
## Film and television career
His screen career ran from 1981 to 1995. The filmography aggregator listing dates his first credit as Mad Dog in *The Cannonball Run*, released June 19, 1981[7](http://www.soonerfb.com/pplPerson.aspx?PID=32789). (The *Variety* obituary's film list gives 1984 for *Cannonball Run*; the 1981 release date matches the film's actual release.) Early character parts followed in *Mondo New York* (1988), a quasi-documentary in which he appeared as himself, *Street Smart*, and *[Spike of Bensonhurst](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-of-bensonhurst)*, and he had a part in [Jim Jarmusch](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-jarmusch)'s *Mystery Train* (1989)[5](https://freshairarchive.org/guests/rick-aviles) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/rick_aviles).
In 1990 he appeared in *Ghost*, *The Godfather Part III*, and *Green Card*, the first two of them in small supporting roles in Best Picture nominees[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/). Later credits included Rosario in *The Saint of Fort Washington* (1993) and [Quisqueya](https://www.edgepedia.org/quisqueya) in *Carlito's Way* (1993)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258376-Rick-Aviles?isMiscCredit=False) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/). On television he hosted *It's Showtime at the Apollo* from 1987, continuing on an occasional basis until 1991, appeared on HBO's *One Night Stand*, and played Rat Man in three 1994 episodes of the miniseries *The Stand*[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/).
Two films were released after his death: *Waterworld* (July 28, 1995), in which he played the Gatesman, and *[Joe's Apartment](https://www.edgepedia.org/joes-apartment)*[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/) • [7](http://www.soonerfb.com/pplPerson.aspx?PID=32789).
## Signature performances
**Willie Lopez in *[Ghost](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghost-1990-film)*.** The role that defined his screen reputation was a comedian cast as a killer: the lowlife who shoots [Patrick Swayze](https://www.edgepedia.org/patrick-swayze)'s character in the 1990 Academy Award-winning drama[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-04-ol-1116-story.html) • [9](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/luis-guzman-mistaken-for-ghost-star-rick-aviles-1234786136/). Aviles himself found the casting unlikely. "I can't believe they cast me as a killer," he said by phone from his Los Angeles home in 1993. "I mean, I'm a comedian. Why don't they cast other comedians as killers?" He joked that his first reaction to the script was, "You mean I get to kill Patrick Swayze and slap Demi Moore? Lemme see that!"[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-04-ol-1116-story.html)
The role paid off on both sides of his career. Headlining at the Irvine Improv in early 1993, he acknowledged that his *Ghost* appearance had given his stand-up career a boost[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-04-ol-1116-story.html). It also fixed him in audiences' memory so firmly that the actor [Luis Guzmán](https://www.edgepedia.org/luis-guzman) has been mistaken for him for decades; Guzmán told *The Rich Eisen Show* that to this day strangers ask him, "Why did you kill Patrick Swayze? What was it like working with Whoopi [Goldberg]?"[9](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/luis-guzman-mistaken-for-ghost-star-rick-aviles-1234786136/)
His other noted parts were quieter: Rosario in *The Saint of Fort Washington* and Quisqueya in *Carlito's Way*, both 1993[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258376-Rick-Aviles?isMiscCredit=False) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/). (Some summaries give the *Carlito's Way* role as "Gail"; the filmographic sources retrieved list the character as Quisqueya.)
## By the numbers
The measurable shape of the career is compact. Screen credits span just over fourteen years, from June 19, 1981 (*The Cannonball Run*) to July 28, 1995 (*Waterworld*)[7](http://www.soonerfb.com/pplPerson.aspx?PID=32789). The film list in his obituary names nine titles, from *Cannonball Run* through the two posthumous releases[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/). In 1990 he appeared in two of the year's Best Picture nominees, *Ghost* and *The Godfather Part III*, in small supporting parts[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/). His screen time in these films was typically brief, but the *Ghost* role in particular proved memorable enough to be misattributed to another actor decades later[9](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/luis-guzman-mistaken-for-ghost-star-rick-aviles-1234786136/).
## Death and legacy
Aviles died on March 17, 1995, in Los Angeles, at age 42, shortly before the release of *Waterworld*[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/). The contemporaneous trade obituary reported the cause as heart failure; IMDb records the cause as an AIDS-related pulmonary embolism[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/). Memorial services were held April 5 at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, and he was survived by his parents, two sisters, and a brother[3](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/).
His posthumous footprint rests on the two 1995 releases and on the continuing recognizability of Willie Lopez. The Library of Congress authority record, built from IMDb and the *Mystery Train* home-video credits, documents his name and dates[1](http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2002033273).
## References
1. [Aviles, Rick, 1952-1995 — LC Linked Data Service, Library of Congress](http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2002033273)
2. [Rick Aviles — AFI Catalog, American Film Institute](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258376-Rick-Aviles?isMiscCredit=False)
3. [Rick Aviles (obituary), Variety, April 17, 1995](https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/rick-aviles-99128129/)
4. [A Killer in Comic's Clothes: Rick Aviles Says Role as Heavy in 'Ghost' Aided Stand-Up Career, Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1993](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-04-ol-1116-story.html)
5. [Comic Turned Actor Rick Aviles — Fresh Air Archive](https://freshairarchive.org/guests/rick-aviles)
6. [Rick Aviles — IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0043173/)
7. [Rick Aviles — Person Details, filmography listing](http://www.soonerfb.com/pplPerson.aspx?PID=32789)
8. [Rick Aviles — Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/rick_aviles)
9. [Luis Guzmán Mistaken for 'Ghost' Star Rick Aviles for Decades, IndieWire](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/luis-guzman-mistaken-for-ghost-star-rick-aviles-1234786136/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Character actors, B-movie and genre-circuit performers › American performers, recent era*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license