“I’ve had the time of my life” – this line from the famous soundtrack is enough to make Baby and Johnny dance with their lifting figure from “Dirty Dancing” in your mind’s eye. The American film was released in cinemas in 1987 and became the big surprise hit of the season – and the first film to sell more than a million copies on video.
The plot of the cult film is largely based on the youth of screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein, who herself took part in so-called “dirty dance competitions” while on family vacation. “Dirty Dancing” was produced by Linda Gottlieb and “Vestron Pictures” – but only with half the originally requested budget. Emile Ardolino, for whom “Dirty Dancing” was the first major feature film, was chosen as director.
“Dirty Dancing”: There was tension between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey
As Patrick Swayze was cast as the male lead of “Johnny”. Jennifer Grey, who embodies “Baby Houseman”, wasn’t particularly happy about this choice – there had always been friction between the two in their first joint project “Red Dawn”. During the filming of “Dirty Dancing”, the main actors were forced to watch their screen test together, in which they had “breathtaking” chemistry.
The crew battled extreme weather conditions during filming
The 43-day shoot of the film began in early September 1986 and took place in two different locations: the town of Lake Lure in North Carolina and the famous “Mountain Lake Lodge” in Virginia. Due to indoor temperatures of up to 49 degrees Celsius, several actors had to be hospitalized due to dehydration and lead actor Patrick Swayze severely injured his knee after falling from a tree trunk during the balancing scene. In October it got so cold that the temperature of the lake dropped to 4 degrees Celsius for the lifting figure scene and became a real torture for leading actress Jennifer Grey.
The “Dirty Dancing” stars today
For many of the actors, the film “Dirty Dancing” was their breakthrough. Most of them came from the musical scene or were trained dancers – Patrick Swayze, for example, was a ballet dancer. Some actors, like Jane Brucker, who played “Baby’s” sister “Lisa Houseman” or Neal Jones, who played “Johnny’s” cousin “Robbie”, are no longer active in the industry today. Our photo series shows what the other stars of the 80s cult film are doing today.