15 Things You Didn't Know About Dirty Dancing in Honor of the Film's 34th Anniversary (2024)

Years ago, Dirty Dancing foxtrotted onto the silver screen and cha-cha-cha'd straight into our hearts.

Starring Jennifer Grey and the late Patrick Swayze, the movie became a pop culture staple, referenced in television, film and at every other wedding you've been to. Heck, I can't even carry in groceries without mumbling to myself, "I carried a watermelon." If you haven't seen Dirty Dancing — first of all, how? Second, you have certainly heard at least one line from the film (we'd bet it's "Nobody puts Baby in a corner") or had that iconic final song stuck in your head.

Regardless, we hope you have the time of your life reading through these fun facts about Dirty Dancing.

It's (loosely) based on screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein's real life.

Emphasis on "loosely." Bergstein did spend her summers in the Catskills, her father was a doctor, she did go by "Baby" and, naturally, she loved to dirty dance.

The film is well known not only for its story, but for its amazing soundtrack.

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Before the film's music won awards though, the crew had to scramble to afford the music that Bergstein insisted on including. Eventually, all of the songs she asked for made it into the film, including original songs like "She's Like the Wind" by Patrick Swayze, "Hungry Eyes" by Eric Carmen and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. The soundtrack sold over 30 million copies.

The song's final song, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" was chosen literally the night before the cast and crew shot the finale.

The song would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song — and the unofficial award for "best way to end a wedding reception."

Jennifer Grey was 26 at the time she accepted the role to play 17-year-old Frances "Baby" Houseman, while Patrick Swayze was 34.

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Winona Ryder and Sarah Jessica Parker were also up for the role of Baby.

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However, according to the film's producer, Linda Gottlieb, "Jennifer Grey was pushed into the audition room by her father and we were in love." Bergstein says, "As she walked in, she said, 'Wish me luck, Daddy,' and she just closed the Baby's face in my mind, and from that moment on she was the only person I wanted."

Benicio Del Toro, Val Kilmer and Billy Zane were up for the role of Johnny Castle.

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You know, the same Billy Zane who played the villainous Cal in Titanic? "But he danced like someone who looked like he had learned to dance beautifully for his bar mitzvah," Bergstein said in Netflix's Movies That Made Us, and they needed someone who could really sell it as a dancer.

Bergstein picked out Swayze for the role of Johnny Castle from a Rolodex of photos of eyes.

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"I wanted hooded eyes," Bergstein said in Movies That Made Us. "So we went through picture after picture and I said, 'Ah! Those are the eyes I want.'"

Grey and Swayze had plenty of on-screen chemistry, but off-screen were not friendly. In fact, he had to convince her to take the role.

"She begged us to have anyone but Patrick," Bergstein said of Grey's animosity toward her costar. The pair had worked together on the 1984 film Red Dawn and had not gotten along. When Bergstein explained that Grey did not want to do the film with him, Swayze offered to talk with her. "He went in alone and he sat with Jennifer about half an hour and they came out with their eyes red," and the pair were solidified as Johnny and Baby.

And you can see them clash on-screen.

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Swayze had been a dancer for his entire life, much like his onscreen character, while Grey had very little experience. That meant that all of their pent-up frustrations were channeled into their roles, and we can see them really working together (and arguing) on-screen. They do say that art imitates life, right?

But you can also see them having a great time together.

The famous "Love Is Strange" scene was really just footage of the pair rehearsing and fooling around before filming the real thing.

During filming, they called it "Dancing Film Productions" so that the Mountain Lakes Resort where they filmed didn't think they were making a movie about a different kind of dirty dancing.

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PS: You can stay in the hotel where they shot the film, though it's not in the Catskills!

Swayze hurt himself while filming one of the film's many iconic scenes.

Swayze refused to use a body double during the scene when the pair dance on a log over a ravine. His injury ended up holding up production for the film, which already had a minuscule budget. It also aggravated a knee injury he sustained while playing football in high school, making that final dance all the more difficult for him.

It was so cold while they filmed the scene where Johnny lifts Baby in the lake that they couldn't have any close-up shots of the pair.

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Though it took place in the summer, the movie was filmed during October, and the water was so cold that the actors' mouths were blue.

Patrick Swayze hated the film's most iconic line.

I mean, to be fair, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" doesn't really make sense for the scene. There's not a corner in sight! But go ahead and watch it again, you know, for old times' sake.

That big lift at the end? It was never rehearsed.

"I only did it on the day I shot it," the actress revealed in an interview with The Guardian. "Never rehearsed it, never done it since."

"I would never practice the lift — I was too scared. The day you see me do it in the movie is the first time I do it," Grey told SELF of the iconic lift. She also told The Guardian, "I don't know how all these people who re-enact it have the guts to throw themselves into the arms of anyone other than Patrick Swayze."

15 Things You Didn't Know About Dirty Dancing in Honor of the Film's 34th Anniversary (2024)

FAQs

What you didn t know about Dirty Dancing? ›

Even though the movie took place in summer, the filming for the movie was in October, so the water was freezing! If you notice no close up shots were shown in the film, as the actors lips were blue! The scene from the movie was actually just a rehearsal, with Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze playing around.

What was the age difference between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey? ›

Swayze Was 34 Years Old & Grey Was 27 Years Old

The late Swayze was approximately seven years older than Grey in real life. When Dirty Dancing premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1987, Roadhouse star Patrick Swayze was 34 years old and was best known for portraying Darrel "Darry" Curtis in The Outsiders.

What was the mistake in Dirty Dancing? ›

Revealing mistakes

The film was set in the summer, yet the lake scene where they Johnny and Baby practice the lift was filmed in October. Since the leaves were already turning, the crew had to paint the leaves in the background. If you look closely you can see where they missed a few in one spot.

Who turned down Dirty Dancing? ›

Patrick Swayze almost wasn't casted as Johnny Castle. Billy Zane and Val Kilmer were up for the role before Swayze, but Billy Zane couldn't sell it as a dancer and Val Kilmer turned down the opportunity when it was offered to him.

Why is Dirty Dancing a 15? ›

Although some parents may find the dancing a little too dirty, teen viewers will likely be captivated. Sex-related content abounds: One character has a botched abortion, the main character loses her virginity, and another experiences being coerced by someone she's dating.

Did they actually do the lift in Dirty Dancing? ›

But all their hard work proved to be worth it, with Grey reflecting on finally nailing the lift with Swayze in her 2022 memoir, Out of the Corner, that she held off doing the infamous move until they filmed the climactic final dance scene. "What you see between us in that scene was also real," she wrote.

Did Johnny and baby get along in real life? ›

While watching Johnny and Baby turn from enemies to lovers is heartwarming, off-screen, the actors were far from being good pals. Due to their past encounters and varying work-ethics, the pair didn't get along.

What happened to the actress who played Penny in Dirty Dancing? ›

Perhaps her best screen role was as Patrick Swayze's sexy dance partner whose pregnancy opens the way for Jennifer Grey in the hit "Dirty Dancing" (1987). Rhodes has seemingly retired from screen acting since her 1989 marriage to singer Richard Marx.

Why did Jennifer Gray stop acting? ›

Dirty Dancing was released a few weeks after the collision, catapulting Grey to fame. But she has said that her grief and survivor's guilt over the crash prevented her from enjoying the film's success and led her to withdraw from acting for some time. Grey was also romantically involved with actors Michael J.

Why is Penny sick in Dirty Dancing? ›

In the film set in 1963, a decade before Roe, the character Penny played by Cynthia Rhodes has an unplanned pregnancy and must undergo an illegal abortion that results in a botched procedure and a painful recovery. Grey said of that film, “We saw someone who was hemorrhaging.

Did Baby get pregnant in Dirty Dancing? ›

In the 1987 film, a dancer named Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) who works at the resort Grey's character — Frances "Baby" Houseman — and her family are staying, finds out she's unexpectedly pregnant and obtains an illegal abortion. To pay for the "back alley procedure," Baby takes money from her father without his knowledge.

What is the message of Dirty Dancing? ›

Dirty Dancing (1987) takes place in a summer resort mainly visited by the upper class and is about young love, self-expression through dance, exploring sexuality, but the narrative also illustrates social differences between class and gender in society (Boyd, 2007).

Who was originally supposed to play Johnny in Dirty Dancing? ›

The producers then sought a male lead, initially considering 20-year-old Billy Zane, though initial screen tests when he was partnered with Grey did not meet expectations. Val Kilmer and Benicio del Toro were also considered for Johnny.

Who was the first choice for Baby in Dirty Dancing? ›

First choice for the role of Baby was Mindy Cohn, but she was unavailable. Patrick Swayze had to convince Jennifer Grey to be in this film because she disliked him so much while filming Red Dawn (1984).

Who did Penny get pregnant by Dirty Dancing? ›

During the conversation, Baby learns that Robbie, who is supposedly dating her sister, is responsible for Penny's pregnancy. The next day, Baby confronts Robbie and tries to get him to give Penny $250 for an abortion.

What is the true story behind the movie Dirty Dancing? ›

The film was based on screenwriter Bergstein's own childhood. She originally wrote a screenplay for the Michael Douglas film It's My Turn, but she ultimately ended up conceiving a story for a film which became Dirty Dancing.

How old was the baby supposed to be in Dirty Dancing? ›

How old are Baby and Johnny in Dirty Dancing? The movie is set in 1963, and Baby is 18, while Jonny is 24. In real life Jennifer Grey was 26 when she was cast as Baby, a character that was intended to be fresh out of high school. When Patrick Swayze was cast to play the role of Johnny in the film, he was 34.

Was Patrick Swayze a trained dancer? ›

Swayze took lessons at his mother's Houston dance studio and later studied at the Harkness and Joffrey Ballet schools in New York City. He began his professional career as Prince Charming in Disney on Parade and appeared briefly as Danny Zuko in the original Broadway production of Grease.

How much money was Patrick Swayze worth when he passed away? ›

Patrick Swayze's net worth was $40 million at the time of his death in 2009. His wealth was primarily accumulated through his successful acting career in Hollywood.

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