In August 1987, Dirty Dancing became a cinematic sensation, captivating audiences with its passionate romance between Frances “Baby” Houseman, a naive but earnest young woman, and Johnny Castle, a charismatic dance instructor at Kellerman’s, a fictional resort nestled in the Catskills. The film’s timeless story of love, class differences, and self-discovery, set against the backdrop of a summer of dance, resonated deeply with viewers worldwide.
Despite reports of on-set friction between the lead actors, Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze – stemming from their prior experience in Red Dawn – their undeniable chemistry ignited the screen. This dynamic was instrumental in propelling Emile Ardolino’s Dirty Dancing into a global phenomenon. The film’s soundtrack was equally iconic, selling over 32 million copies and contributing to the movie’s impressive $214 million global box office success. Dirty Dancing also made history as the first film to sell over a million units on home video, cementing its place in pop culture history.
While attempts to recapture the original magic with a 2004 prequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and a 2017 TV remake, failed to reach the same heights, the legacy of the 1987 film remains untouched. In April 2022, Jennifer Grey announced her return to the beloved role of Baby in a sequel film, promising a tribute to the late Patrick Swayze.
As anticipation builds for the Dirty Dancing sequel, it’s the perfect moment to revisit the original cast and discover what they have been up to since their summer at Kellerman’s.
Jennifer Grey (Frances “Baby” Houseman)
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Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman as portrayed by Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing and Jennifer Grey at a recent event.
Before embodying Frances “Baby” Houseman, the shy teenager who blossoms into a confident dancer, Jennifer Grey was already familiar with the spotlight, being the daughter of Broadway legend Joel Grey. Following early roles in films like Red Dawn and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Grey’s portrayal of Baby in Dirty Dancing earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, solidifying her status as a leading lady.
The iconic watermelon scene and Baby’s line have resonated with audiences for decades. Grey explained to EW in 2022 that the line’s impact stems from its portrayal of “the specificity of the feeling of intense shame… That feeling, that human feeling, is so universal.” She captured the awkwardness and vulnerability of adolescence perfectly.
Post-Dirty Dancing, Grey faced challenges in maintaining her Hollywood momentum, partly due to a rhinoplasty that altered her appearance significantly. She made a memorable guest appearance as Mindy, Rachel’s friend, in the first season of Friends, but declined to reprise the role due to anxiety. Grey later starred in her own sitcom, It’s Like, You Know…, and continued to work in supporting roles in film and television. In 2010, she returned to her dancing roots, winning season 11 of Dancing With the Stars. Looking ahead, Grey is set to revisit her most famous role in the upcoming Dirty Dancing sequel. In 2022, she released her memoir, Out of the Corner, reflecting on her career, personal life, and the lasting impact of Dirty Dancing.
Grey was married to actor Clark Gregg for 20 years before their divorce in 2021. They have a daughter, Stella.
Patrick Swayze (Johnny Castle)
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Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing and Patrick Swayze in a later photo.
Patrick Swayze, son of choreographer Patsy Swayze, brought the charismatic and rebellious Johnny Castle to life. Prior to Dirty Dancing, Swayze had already showcased his talents on Broadway as Danny Zuko in Grease and in The Outsiders. Beyond dancing, Swayze was skilled in martial arts and a talented singer. He sang “She’s Like the Wind” for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, which became a Top 3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Swayze explained to PEOPLE that the song’s success lay in its relatable theme: “a man is in love with a woman and he knows he’s not good enough… That’s kind of how Johnny felt with Baby: She so outclasses me, how dare [I think] she might love me? I think I accidentally keyed into something that so many guys feel.”
Dirty Dancing catapulted Swayze to A-list stardom. He followed up with a string of successful films including Road House, Point Break, and Ghost, earning two more Golden Globe nominations for Ghost and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar. Even as his box office appeal shifted in the late 90s, Swayze continued to take on diverse roles in films like Donnie Darko and even made a cameo in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.
In 2007, Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer while filming The Beast. He tragically passed away in 2009, leaving behind his wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi. Together, they co-authored his memoir, The Time of My Life, published posthumously in 2010. Niemi also participated in the 2019 documentary I Am Patrick Swayze, celebrating his life and career.
Jerry Orbach (Jake Houseman)
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Jake Houseman in Dirty Dancing and Jerry Orbach in a later portrait.
Before playing Baby’s stern but ultimately loving father, Dr. Jake Houseman, Jerry Orbach was a celebrated Broadway actor, known for originating the role of Billy Flynn in Chicago. Prior to Dirty Dancing‘s release, TV audiences knew him from his recurring role as private investigator Harry McGraw on Murder, She Wrote and its spin-off, as well as crime films like Prince of the City and F/X.
Dirty Dancing proved to be a significant financial success for Orbach. His profit participation deal resulted in a larger payout than anticipated due to the film’s unexpected blockbuster status. He told EW in 1991, “Nobody knew how big that movie was going to be, or they wouldn’t have given us a little piece of it.”
Post-Dirty Dancing, Orbach became even more widely recognized and beloved for his iconic role as Detective Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order for many years, and for voicing Lumière, the charming candlestick in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. He portrayed these characters across numerous spin-offs and sequels, and continued to appear on Murder, She Wrote until 1991.
Orbach was married to Marta Curro from 1958 to 1979, with whom he had two sons. In 1979, he married actress Elaine Cancilla. After a decade-long private battle with prostate cancer, Orbach passed away at age 69 in December 2004. His final role was a posthumous appearance in Law & Order: Trial by Jury in 2005.
Kelly Bishop (Marjorie Houseman)
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Marjorie Houseman in Dirty Dancing and Kelly Bishop at a Freeform event.
Kelly Bishop played Baby’s mother, Marjorie Houseman, with warmth and subtle humor. Interestingly, Bishop was initially cast as Vivian Pressman but was later recast as Marjorie. She shared with Canada’s National Post, “What was good about the role was that I’d always played the other woman, that character I was cast for originally, and this changed me into more of a mom, which broadened my outlook a little bit… Although I have to admit I found being a nice mom not nearly as much fun as being a bad girl.”
Despite winning a Tony Award for her dancing in A Chorus Line, Bishop didn’t get to showcase her professional dance moves in Dirty Dancing. She made her screen debut in Hawaii Five-0 in 1976 and after several supporting roles, landed Dirty Dancing. While she didn’t perform any high kicks in the finale, she did share a brief dance scene with Neil Kellerman, showing where Baby inherited her moves.
Since Dirty Dancing, Bishop is best known for her iconic role as Emily Gilmore, the sharp-tongued matriarch in Gilmore Girls, a role she played for seven seasons and reprised in the Netflix revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Although a Dirty Dancing cast reunion hasn’t happened, she did work with Joel Grey in a 2011 Broadway revival of Anything Goes. Bishop has frequently collaborated with Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, appearing in Bunheads and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has also appeared in films like Wonder Boys and Friends With Kids.
Bishop was married to TV personality Lee Leonard for nearly 40 years until his passing in 2018.
Cynthia Rhodes (Penny Johnson)
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Penny Johnson from Dirty Dancing and Cynthia Rhodes at a Getty event.
Cynthia Rhodes, a professional dancer and singer, was already an experienced on-screen performer before Dirty Dancing, with roles in Xanadu, Staying Alive, Flashdance, and Runaway. She also featured in music videos for Toto, the Bee Gees, and her future husband, Richard Marx. Rhodes had previously collaborated with Dirty Dancing choreographer Kenny Ortega in a video for The Tubes and in Xanadu. In Dirty Dancing, she played Johnny’s original dance partner, Penny Johnson, whose character’s storyline drives a significant part of the plot.
In a 1989 interview, Rhodes described the intense rehearsals for Dirty Dancing: “We started rehearsals about two weeks before we started the film and we rehearsed every day for about 10 hours a day to make it look, like, that Patrick and I had been dancing together all of our lives… it was really hard… and that’s why I keep saying I’m never going to dance again.”
After Dirty Dancing, Rhodes shifted her focus to music, becoming the lead singer for Animotion’s third album. However, the band soon disbanded, and Rhodes starred in only one more film, Curse of the Crystal Eye in 1991, before retiring from acting to raise her family.
Rhodes was married to singer Richard Marx for 25 years until their divorce in 2014. They have three sons: Lucas, Jesse, and Brandon.
Jane Brucker (Lisa Houseman)
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Jane Brucker as Lisa Houseman in Dirty Dancing.
Jane Brucker portrayed Lisa Houseman, Baby’s somewhat self-absorbed sister, famous for her off-key “Hula Hana” performance at the Kellerman’s talent show. Brucker had previously appeared in Miami Vice and One Life to Live. Dirty Dancing marked her film debut, where she not only delivered a memorable (if intentionally awkward) performance of “Hula Hana,” but also co-wrote the song with choreographer Kenny Ortega on set.
Brucker recounted to EW, “I wrote the story of the spoiled brat on an island, just during breaks.… [At some point] Kenny said, “Put ‘wacka wacka’ in it.” I thought you couldn’t put “wacka” in the song because it sounded like “whack off.” I thought he was nuts.… But then I thought, “Wait a minute, the movie’s called Dirty Dancing. Maybe I’m just square.”
Following Dirty Dancing, Brucker reunited with Jennifer Grey in Bloodhounds of Broadway in 1989 and worked sporadically in television and film, including Stealing Home and Dishdogz. Although initially hesitant to seek songwriting credit for “Hula Hana,” she later pursued publishing rights and eventually received retroactive credit when the song was featured in the stage musical adaptation. In 2022, Brucker made a cameo in the Dirty Dancing world as a guest judge on The Real Dirty Dancing reality competition series.
Brucker was married to actor Brian O’Connor until 1993, and later married photographer Raul Vega in 2001. She has two daughters, one from each marriage.
Jack Weston (Max Kellerman)
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Max Kellerman in Dirty Dancing and Jack Weston in a portrait.
Jack Weston played Max Kellerman, the owner of Kellerman’s resort. By the time Dirty Dancing was filmed, Weston was a seasoned actor with over 100 credits, starting his career in the 1950s. He was known for roles in Wait Until Dark, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Cactus Flower. In 1976, he received a Golden Globe nomination for The Ritz and a Tony nomination in 1981 for Woody Allen’s The Floating Light Bulb.
After Dirty Dancing, Weston made only one more on-screen appearance in Short Circuit 2 in 1988. He returned to the stage for a one-night Broadway production of The Odd Couple in 1991 before retiring from acting.
Weston was first married to actress Marge Redmond. After their divorce, he married Laurie Gilkes, and they had a child together. Jack Weston passed away from lymphoma in 1996.
Wayne Knight (Stan)
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Stan in Dirty Dancing and Wayne Knight at a recent event.
Wayne Knight played Stan, Kellerman’s aspiring comedian and resort announcer. Before Dirty Dancing, Knight had limited on-screen experience, with a background primarily in theater, including a Broadway role in Gemini. Dirty Dancing was only his third film role.
Following Dirty Dancing, Knight’s career took off. He is famously known for his roles as Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park and Newman in Seinfeld. He also had a long-running role in 3rd Rock From the Sun. Knight boasts over 120 credits, including Space Jam, Rat Race, and extensive voice work in animation.
Knight was married to Paula Sutor from 1996 to 2003. He has been married to Clare de Chenu since 2006, and they have a son named Liam.
Lonny Price (Neil Kellerman)
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Neil Kellerman in Dirty Dancing and Lonny Price in a later portrait.
Lonny Price played Neil Kellerman, Baby’s somewhat pompous suitor. Prior to Dirty Dancing, Price worked in theater, including the original Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. Film audiences might recognize him as Ronnie Crawford in The Muppets Take Manhattan.
After Dirty Dancing, Price primarily made guest appearances on TV shows like Law & Order with Jerry Orbach. In the mid-90s, he transitioned to directing, working on television shows such as Desperate Housewives and Great Performances. He has won two Emmys for directing PBS Great Performances: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Sondheim! The Birthday Concert. In 2017, he directed Glenn Close in the Broadway revival of Sunset Boulevard, and in 2023, he directed the touring production of Peter Pan.
Max Cantor (Robbie Gould)
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Max Cantor as Robbie Gould in Dirty Dancing.
Max Cantor portrayed Robbie Gould, the waiter with questionable morals who abandons Penny. Cantor’s acting career was brief, with only five roles, Dirty Dancing being his most prominent. He also appeared in the TV pilot of Diner and an episode of Leg Work. His final role was in Todd Solondz’s Fear, Anxiety & Depression in 1989. Besides acting, Cantor was a journalist for The Village Voice.
Tragically, Max Cantor passed away from a heroin overdose in 1991 at the age of 32.
Neal Jones (Billy Kostecki)
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Neal Jones as Billy Kostecki in Dirty Dancing.
Neal Jones made his film debut as Billy Kostecki, Johnny’s cousin who delivers the famous watermelon to Baby. Prior to Dirty Dancing, Jones honed his acting skills in New York theater productions like Macbeth and Big River.
Jones told HoboTrashcan in 2008 about his Dirty Dancing experience: “I’d never been on a film set, so it was all really bright lights to me. I was just trying to stay afloat because…the difference between theater and film and television is a wide gorge.”
Post-Dirty Dancing, Jones reunited with Jerry Orbach in Chinese Coffee and Law & Order. He also appeared with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in The Devil’s Advocate and received acclaim for his role in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill. His film credits include Glengarry Glen Ross and In America. His last credited role was in 2011, and he seems to have stepped away from acting.
Miranda Garrison (Vivian Pressman)
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Miranda Garrison as Vivian Pressman in Dirty Dancing.
Miranda Garrison played Vivian Pressman, Johnny’s seductive older woman. Garrison, a dancer and actress, had previously worked with choreographer Kenny Ortega on Xanadu. Originally an assistant choreographer for Dirty Dancing, she stepped into the role of Vivian after Kelly Bishop’s recasting.
Garrison shared with Female First in 2008 about choreographing the iconic lift: “Kenny Ortega, myself, and most likely Patrick Swayze presented many ‘lifts’ to the director Emile Ardolino and writer Elinor Bergstein. Emile and Elinor wanted a through-line metaphor for the ultimate triumph of both Baby and Johnny. Once this lift was found we all knew its narrative power.”
Since Dirty Dancing, Garrison has primarily played dancers in films like Salsa, The Forbidden Dance, and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. Her main focus has been choreography, leading projects like Evita with Madonna and Selena with Jennifer Lopez. She also has credits on films such as The Rocketeer, The Skeleton Key, and Poseidon. Garrison served as a judge on the UK reality competition Dirty Dancing: The Time of Your Life.
