For fans of the hit 1980s classic Dirty Dancing, it’s hard to imagine that the movie has been
around for over 30 years! The film was an unlikely hit with its miniscule budget and has maintained
a strong legacy in the days since its original release. Actress Jennifer Grey counts herself
among the many who were surprised by what a huge deal the film turned out to be, and she
loves talking about it today! There’s plenty about the iconic coming-of-age movie that even the most
diehard fans might not know, and the best way to learn is to go directly to the source. Join Facts
Verse as Jennifer Grey reveals untold secrets of Dirty Dancing.
Jennifer Grey Believes That Fate Had a Hand in Dirty Dancing’s Production
When Dirty Dancing was first entering into production, few involved in the picture
had any idea of the kind of impact the movie was going to have on popular culture. After 35 years,
the movie is still nearly as popular today as it was during the height of its box-office success.
There were many things that came together to make the film as special as it is,
and actress Jennifer Grey attributes most of these things to fate.
Though Dirty Dancing was released in 1987, its story takes place in 1963. The film centers on the
character of Frances “Baby” Houseman”, portrayed by the aforementioned actress Jennifer Grey,
and the character of Johnny Castle, portrayed by an unforgettable Patrick Swayze. Johnny is
a dancing instructor, and the film revolves around him trying to teach the character of
Baby how to dirty dance. The film takes place at a summer resort in the Catskills Mountains.
Dirty Dancing Made Over 40 Times Its Budget Back at the Box Office Upon Its Release
Dirty Dancing was filmed on a decidedly modest budget of around $5 million,
and it went on to gross well over $200 million at the box office. Of course, this was quite the
hefty profit! Many of these ticket sales came from fans that were so taken by the film that they kept
going back to the theater again and again. Few could’ve predicted what a major success the film
was going to become. In fact, there were some who thought the film was going to be a failure!
Patrick Swayze was infamously advised against taking his role in Dirty Dancing,
though he thankfully ended up going through with it. The actor’s manager thought that it was the
wrong move for his client’s career, but Patrick’s role in the film has undoubtedly gone down in
history as one of the actor’s most iconic. Besides Patrick’s role in Road House, there are few other
roles that will first pop up in someone’s mind than Johnny when they hear the actor’s name.
Patrick Swayze Was a Professional Dancer, but Jennifer Grey Was Not
Patrick had a professional dancing background, having grown up as a ballet dancer. Meanwhile,
his female costar in Dirty Dancing was someone who embodied the dancing spirit
more than having any professional knowledge of its art. However, this arguably made
Jennifer Grey the perfect choice to play the character of Baby. Just as Patrick’s
character of Johnny can be seen guiding Baby to become a better dancer in the film,
Patrick also helped Jennifer Grey become a better dancer during the picture’s filming.
As compared to Patrick Swayze, who almost didn’t even take his, Jennifer Grey was
incredibly grateful for the opportunity to play such a big role in Dirty Dancing. Jennifer had
been in several notable pictures beforehand. She had played the titular character’s nosy sister
in 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and she had also previously appeared alongside Patrick Swayze
in a film, with that being 1984’s Red Dawn. For her role in Dirty Dancing,
Jennifer was said to have beaten out such staggering competition as Sarah Jessica Park,
Winona Ryder, and Sharon Stone. As with Patrick Swayze in the role of Johnny Castle, few could
argue that Jennifer Grey wasn’t the right choice to portray the character of Baby in the film.
It Was Typically Very Cold on Dirty Dancing’s Set Dirty Dancing is supposed to take place during the
summer, but the film was actually shot during the fall. In addition, it wasn’t shot anywhere near
the Catskills Mountain, and the set was certainly no summer resort! Dirty Dancing was actually shot
within the states of North Carolina and Virginia. Given the oftentimes-volatile conditions in these
states during the fall, the weather was a burden. Jennifer Grey claims that there were times
during the shooting of the picture when it would be as hot as 100 degrees out, though temperatures
were predominantly much lower. The temperature would typically be only around 40 degrees.
As one might imagine, the predominantly cold temperatures made it very hard for Jennifer Grey
and Patrick Swayze to film the scene where the characters of Johnny and Baby are practicing
their iconic jump while in the water. The water temperatures were incredibly cold,
though the two stars had to act as if the water was comfortable.
As a result of the blue lips that the actors began to receive during filming, close-ups
weren’t allowed. Thankfully, the two stars managed to persevere. However,
the temperature wasn’t the only issue on the set of the film. If you’re enjoying this video so far,
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Crewmembers Thought That Dirty Dancing Was Cursed In addition to it being incredibly cold throughout
most of Dirty Dancing’s filming, there was also the matter that so many mishaps and injuries
occurred on the film’s set that crewmembers began to believe the production was cursed. One of the
more notable incidents occurred when Patrick Swayze was filming the scene where he balances
on a log. Apparently, the actor hurt his knee so badly that he almost had to leave the production!
Another incident saw Jennifer getting stung by wasps. Besides these injuries that Jennifer and
Patrick Swayze received, there were also other injuries on the set of the film. On one occasion,
a set decorator fell off of the ladder that he was standing on. On another occasion,
the film’s assistant director broke her wrist. Finally, there was a wardrobe assistant who broke
one of her toes. Besides these injuries, there was also a bout of food poisoning
that broke out on the set amongst various crewmembers as a result of the film’s catering.
Jennifer and Patrick Didn’t Always Get Along
A big part of Dirty Dancing’s appeal was the apparent chemistry that Jennifer Grey
and Patrick Swayze exuded when they were on the screen. However, according to Jennifer,
this chemistry wasn’t mirrored in real life. The two weren’t unfriendly,
but they were relatively awkward around each other. In addition, there were more than a
few occasions where the comparatively professional Patrick Swayze got frustrated with Jennifer on set
as a result of the latter’s inability to get a scene done on time. On one occasion, an instance
of Patrick getting upset at Jennifer’s spontaneous laughter during a dancing scene was kept in.
Although Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze didn’t always get along, there was a reason that they
were picked to perform together in the film. Apparently, the two had done a screen test before
the movie’s filming that had lit up the room with their latent chemistry. When Jennifer and Patrick
had a hard time replicating that chemistry on the set of the film, the director was said to
have made them watch footage of the screen test in hopes that it would bring the chemistry back.
The director’s choice to make Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze watch footage of their
screen test paid off, and the stars were able to get the job done. Jennifer believes that the
tension between her and Patrick on the set of the film helped make the movie more interesting. The
two played characters from different walks of life, and their real-life differences created
palpable tension that audiences picked up on. Instead of hurting the romance in the film,
the tension actually helped make the romance just a tad bit spicier!
Jennifer and Patrick Were Older Than Their Characters
In Dirty Dancing, the character of Baby is supposed to be 18
and the character of Johnny is supposed to be 24.
In real life, the stars that played the characters were 26 and 34, respectively.
Thankfully, the two stars managed to give their performances their all and convince audiences
that they were actually two young dancers at a summer resort in the 1960s, and not two much
older performers that were nearly freezing to death in North Carolina during the 1980s.
Dirty Dancing Almost Wasn’t Called Dirty Dancing Besides the chemistry of its leads, it’s also
arguably that a big part of the appeal of Dirty Dancing comes from the lurid nature of
the picture’s name! The name has become as iconic as any other aspect of the film, though censors
initially balked at the prospect of allowing the studio to call the film Dirty Dancing. The
studio apparently had to push hard for the film to retain the title that the producers decided upon.
Patrick Swayze Hated One of the Film’s Iconic Lines
Another iconic aspect of the movie that producers had to fight for during the
filming of Dirty Dancing was the classic line “nobody puts Baby in the corner”. However,
it wasn’t censors that were angry about this line, but Patrick Swayze himself! Patrick apparently
thought that the line was really stupid, but the producers insisted that the line stay in.
No One Wanted to Sing the Theme Song! One final thing about Dirty Dancing that almost
didn’t work out the way the producers wanted was the song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”. The
movie’s musical producers approached many different artists to sing the song for the film,
but no one wanted to do it! In the end, it ended up being Bill Medley who sang the song. Bill was
a member of the musical group the Righteous Brothers, and the song ended up becoming a
massive hit. Other artists that had been approached to sing the song but turned
down the offer include Lionel Richie, Daryl Hall, and Kim Carnes.
Dirty Dancing has been around for 35 years, but there’s still plenty to discuss about the classic
1980s film that fans might not know! Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that the
censors almost didn’t allow Dirty Dancing to be released with its original title and that
the film made over 40 times its budget back at the box office? As always, like this video
to show your support, subscribe, and hit the notification bell if you’d
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