He was one of those faces you've seen a thousand times but probably never knew his name. He was the subway ghost in "Ghost," a loopy teacher in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," and a mental patient in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

And in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he was the "Peddler" — the automated weapons salesman of Minos — in "The Arsenal of Freedom."

Vincent Schiavelli died Monday of lung cancer at his home in Sicily at the age of 57.

Once selected by Vanity Fair as one of the best character actors in America, Schiavelli made over 150 film and television appearances. His droopy eyes, long face, high forehead and unkempt hair kept him constantly employed in creepy or eccentric roles.

He was an evil Red Lectroid in "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension"; Salieri's valet in "Amadeus"; the organ grinder in "Batman Returns"; and a demented doctor in "Tomorrow Never Dies."

In TV, he played odd roles in Taxi, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X Files, Family Guy and dozens of other shows.

Schiavelli was born and raised in Brooklyn, and studied acting at New York University's School of the Arts. Late in life he settled in the Sicilian village where his grandparents were from. Being Italian-American, his other great passion aside from acting was food. He authored three cookbooks and wrote numerous articles on food for magazines and newspapers for which he once won a journalism award.

A full obituary from The Los Angeles Times can be found at the link below.