Jennifer Grey looked forward to the premiere of Dirty Dancing. She was in Northern Ireland taking time off from work to be with actor, Matthew Broderick, whom she co-starred with in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and dated secretly. They planned their day ahead, rented a car to go for a long drive… until everything took an unexpected turn.
They crossed into the wrong lane, and smashed into another vehicle driven by a mother and daughter—Margaret Doherty, and Anna Gallagher—who both died on the spot. Dirty Dancing premiered a few weeks after. Her survivor’s guilt prevented her from relishing her success, and she withdrew from acting for a while.
A Puritanical Editor
Dirty Dancing as a choice for the title of the movie underwent some sort of filtering among producers. First, they were afraid that it might be too suggestive, and people might find it too salacious. This effect might ruin the film’s chances of gaining commercial success, especially among those who are deemed conservative.
When the raw film was forwarded to its editor, he didn’t find the dance scenes “proper” for a woman to perform. He was unaware of its full context, the message of which was to empower women. He finally had the nerve to ask Eleanor, “how can you have respect for a girl who dances that way?”
Rules Of The Dance Floor
Pretty much as soon as rehearsals started, so too did excessive drinking and on-set partying. This was not a one-time thing; in fact, it would go on almost non-stop. The objective was to immerse the actors into their roles and, of course, to acclimatize with the whole working environment, to build camaraderie among them.
Bergstein wanted to build up some sexual tension among the dancers, so she created a rule that banned any sexual contact among them for the next six months, regardless of how sensuous the grinding on the dance floor became. As a result, this group chemistry was bound to be palpable on the silver screen.
Much Younger Character
When Jennifer Grey auditioned for the role of Baby Houseman, her first challenge was not just to impress the casting directors with her acting skills. She had to convince them that she was a versatile actress, so much so that she was capable of portraying the role of a character much younger than herself.
Baby Houseman was supposed to be seventeen. Grey was already 26 at the time, and going on 27. She dared to give it a shot, and got the job convincingly. By the same token, Kelly Bishop, who was only 16 years her senior, landed the role as her parent.
Parties On The Set
All the fun and dancing were rampant on the set of Dirty Dancing. Rehearsals would start and, most times, the booze would start to flow not long after. All the rigidity would be dusted off, and everyone would start to become more confident and familiar with one another.
The directors liked it this way. It wasn’t really an unprofessional manner of conducting their business. They just wanted the actors to get accustomed to their roles, and they were encouraged to improvise when they felt inspired to do so. The more natural the actors became with their characters and the dancing, the better things turned out when the cameras started to roll.