My love for the quintessential 80s film Dirty Dancing is no secret. Growing up, my cousins and I watched and rewatched (and rewatched) the movie (on VHS) until we could recite the dialogue (including iconic lines such as "I carried a watermelon?"; "Go back to your playpen, Baby"; “Look, spaghetti arms. This is my dance space. This is your dance space. I don’t go into yours, you don’t go into mine. You gotta hold the frame” and of course "Nobody puts Baby in a corner"). However, we never quite mastered the choreography and made no attempts at the infamous lift. I have made a pilgrimage to the Mountain Lake Hotel (aka Kellerman's) where most of the film was made and where I purchased an authenticated milk jug that was used on the set. I recently bought the soundtrack on vinyl - still one of the best movie soundtracks ever in my opinion, boasting the huge hits (I've Had) The Time of My Life, Hungry Eyes and She's Like The Wind.
Believe it or not, the film premiered at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival and was released in the US on 21 August 1987, which means that it turns 34 this year. To mark the anniversary, I decided to put the needle on the record, pour some watermelon lemonade into my "I carried a watermelon" mug and research what happened to the cast.
Patrick Swayze (Johnny)
Swayze had a pretty successful career post-Dirty Dancing. He was nominated for 3 Golden Globe awards for Dirty Dancing, Ghost and To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar (he is fantastic as drag queen Vida Boheme). Other successful films include Road House, Point Break, Donnie Darko and Waking Up In Reno. He also performed in Guys and Dolls (in the role of Nathan Detroit) on London's West End in 2006. Sadly, he passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2009 at the age of 57.
Jennifer Grey (Baby)
Nobody puts Baby in a corner. Her career on the other hand...I expected better roles following her critically acclaimed performance in Dirty Dancing, for which she too was nominated for a Golden Globe. She went on to star in a number of films (including Bloodhounds of Broadway which also stars Madonna), though none of them did particularly well at the box office, and has had guest roles on several TV shows including Friends, House, Grey's Anatomy and The Conners. She also won season 11 of Dancing With The Stars in 2010.
Cynthia Rhodes (Penny)
Despite starring in other hit films (Xanadu, Staying Alive, Flashdance) prior to Dirty Dancing, Rhodes retired from acting soon after her role as dancing instructor Penny "who got knocked up by Robbie the creep" to raise her family with her husband at the time, Richard Marx. The couple had three children together and divorced in 2014 after 25 years of marriage.
Kelly Bishop (Marjorie)
Most people will recognise Kelly Bishop from Gilmore Girls (which aired from 2000 to 2007), in which she played Lorelai's wealthy and stern mother, Emily. After Dirty Dancing she played someone's mother in a number of films, including Howard Stern's mom in Private Parts and Tobey Maguire's in Wonder Boys in addition to appearing on various television shows.
Jerry Orbach (Jake)
After playing Baby's strict father in Dirty Dancing, Orbach made guest appearances on several TV shows, including The Golden Girls, Who's The Boss and Frasier. He had a recurring role as private detective Harry McGraw on Murder, She Wrote. However, he is probably best known (and loved) for his long-running role as NYPD homicide detective Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order. In 2004 he lost his decade-long battle with cancer.
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