The iconic lifting scene between Johnny and Baby remains popular to this day. In fact, the idea to revive that popular step in a different setting was manifested in the 2012 movie Crazy, Stupid, Love that starred Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. The two characters tried to re-enact the move, and Jennifer Grey happened to be with her husband in a theater when she first saw it.
She told Yahoo! How much of a fan she was of Gosling, and how shocked she was to hear his character mention her name in the movie. She looked at her husband, still surprised, and said, “Oh my God, Ryan Gosling just said my name. What’s going on?”
Dirty Dancing's Lasting Impression
There wasn’t much promise to Dirty Dancing when the filming was under production. There was an issue about abortion, and the dancing itself was considered by conservatives to be too suggestive. The odds weren’t favorable, however, it has become such a sensational movie. When asked to comment on the matter, Patrick Swayze said, “It’s got so much heart, to me, it’s not about sensuality; it’s really about people trying to find themselves…”
And the movie itself went through an experience not unlike those of its characters—it fought against the odds to find its way out into the open. It’s become a success by sticking to its guns. The message is empowering, not just to women, but to all of us in general.
Nose Debacle
Success can be a maze where many of those who initially achieve it can lose track of their original objectives in life. After Jennifer Grey rose to prominence for her role as Baby in Dirty Dancing, she decided somehow that she just wasn’t pretty enough, and elected to have a nose job. She was hot material during the early 90s, but she wanted more.
Her first surgery resulted in some complications, so she had to undergo another rhinoplasty procedure. The second couldn’t restore the complexities of the first surgery, and it became so bad that she became hardly recognizable. Desperate, she wanted to change her name, and start her career anew!
A Tragic Passing
Patrick Swayze was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in 2008, after he complained about a burning sensation in his stomach. He was just filming an episode for The Beast, and the doctors gave him two weeks to live. He agreed to seek aggressive measures in dealing with his illness, and was put on an experimental drug. He also underwent chemotherapy.
As always, the actor came out fighting. He always assumed control over all kinds of challenges, and cancer was no different. He was a proud cancer survivor. But his disease would slowly but surely metastasize to his liver. He told his fans he was kicking it, but he was visibly pale, and dry-skinned, and bony. Sadly, he died on Sept. 14, 2009, just 20 months on from his cancer diagnosis. Patrick Swayze was just 57 years old.
Val Kilmer Almost Played Johnny
Nowadays, when we think of Dirty Dancing, we can't imagine anyone other than Patrick Swayze playing the gorgeous, smooth Johnny. However, to many fans' surprise, Val Kilmer was director, Emile Ardolino's first choice! Kilmer turned down the offer, though, and went on to star in Daniel Mann's "The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains".
As stunning as Val Kilmer was back then, we're happy Patrick Swayze eventually auditioned for the role and got it. Can you imagine Kilmer lifting up Jennifer Grey in the lake? Yeah, neither can we.