Dirty Dancing: The real-life 'Baby' Hollywood pushed aside

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Growing up in New York in the 1950s, Eleanor Bergstein learnt to 'dance dirty' in basements across Brooklyn. Her parents struck a deal with their teenager: she could keep dancing - and winning trophies for it - if she kept her grades up. Those early memories inspired her in the 1980s to write the blockbuster movie we know today as Dirty Dancing. Eleanor drew on other elements of her life too: her childhood nickname Baby, her father being a doctor and holidaying in the Catskills. But Dirty Dancing nearly didn't get made at all - and the story of getting it across the line is almost as impassioned as the tale it tells. Eleanor's script for Dirty Dancing was rejected by every Hollywood studio, where cigar-smoking executives branded it "too light, too silly and too foolish." But for Eleanor, the film was about more than fabulous dancing and pretty clothes. She set the story in the summer of 1963: the year Martin Luther King gave his celebrated "I Have a Dream" speech, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and America's involvement in Vietnam escalated. Eleanor deliberately weaved political commentary into her script so it couldn't be cut by the powers-that-be - including an abortion, which was illegal in the 60s. Eventually, a small production company based outside of Hollywood decided to back the film. Released in 1987 starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing was initially given a limited five-day cinema release, but ended up dominating the box office for 19 weeks. The film took more than $200m, becoming a blockbuster hit and an abiding fan favourite movie. Just like her central character Baby, Eleanor was underestimated - and put in a corner - until she proved everyone wrong. Eleanor Bergstein, now 87, joined Jo Fidgen, to talk about her faith in a story that almost didn't see the light of day. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Elena Angelides and Maryam Maruf Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 Film archive: Dirty Dancing / Lionsgate / Emile Ardolino (Photo: Two images in polaroid frames slightly overlap. In the first, a black and white photo of a young Eleanor Bergstein in a Catskills holiday resort, during her dancing days. The second is a colour still from the end of Dirty Dancing of the iconic lift dance move with Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Credit: Eleanor Bergstein and Lionsgate)