THE FANS' LOVE STORY: How The Movie 'DIRTY DANCING' Captured The Hearts Of Millions! (18 page)

Also—from (at the time) knowing the actors personally—it’s interesting to see movies several times to look at different elements. For example—the first time around, you can be so focused on Patrick or Tommy’s acting that you lose the story line or some of the other people in the story. So—you go the next time to pick up the things you missed the first time.

As someone who also writes—I went to
Red Dawn
probably twenty times when it came out—not only because of Patrick and Tommy—but I love John Milius and he has a habit of putting subtle things into a story—things you really have to look for—like the truck that the kids escape in has a bumper sticker that says “Native” on it—and here they are being invaded by Cuba and the Russians. Milius was/is brilliant with subtle things like that.

Plus, with these two movies—I saw them numerous times when I went to the screenings/contests since I had to attend with the winners. And I dragged a lot of my friends to the theatre to get them to support them. Some were reluctant to go—but afterwards seemed to enjoy the movies.

Another one of Patrick’s films that I am drawn into is
Tiger Warsaw
—there is a quality to that and his performance that makes me want to watch it more than once . . .

I watch lots of movies again and again—but usually from the writer’s point of view—or because I work with actors (have worked a lot in casting)—so was always looking for new talent and or someone appropriate for a film I may be involved with.

Have watched
The Outsiders
and
One Last Dance
quite a few times too.

And
Loving Lula
(
Along For The Ride
)—I saw before it was even released the first time. It was a screening to give your opinion of what worked, what needed to be fixed, etc. It was fun because it was the first time I had seen Patrick on the big screen in quite awhile. And of course, his character is a writer in the film. It’s also great seeing him hit that emotional level that men don’t always get to do on screen. Like the first time he says his deceased son’s name—in the scene with the two women. When he says “Andrew” and his eyes well up with tears—it makes my eyes well up. I also enjoy the scene at the “adopted” family’s house when he stands up for Lulu and what she goes through to get there—to meet the son she had to give up. It’s really a great film—and one that probably few people have seen. It has many different elements and emotional levels to it. It had to be fun to play as an actor.

And probably anything that has the word “western” attached to it . . . but that’s been mostly TV shows. I love that so many of them are now out on DVD—old and new. I grew up on westerns and love anything “cowboy.”

Have you ever met Patrick or anyone else from the cast?

Yes, I worked with Patrick (Lisa and Nicholas Dunn) on the stage version of
One Last Dance
when it was still in the working stages and known as
Without A Word—
it was a black box show, with only the three of them revealing their inner most thoughts on dancing, persevering, and life things in general. I worked with Lynn Griffith who did publicity and helped out in several other capacities. Don (Patrick’s brother) was the stage manager. I don’t remember meeting other people from the
Dirty Dancing
cast—but have met most of
The Outsiders
and some others (from working in this business for thirty-five years).

I also have a strong connection with Jonathan Jackson (from
Dirty Dancing
:
Havana Nights
)—his brother, Richard Lee, is someone who has been involved with my production company. Richard Lee and Jon are actually going to re-write one of my western scripts.

Some people in Hollywood laugh—you know the “degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon”—it’s kind of like “who can we link with someone Cheryl knows or has worked with”—not so much the new people like the Lindsay Lohans or Britneys, etc . . . but I worked with most of the actors in the ’70s, ’80s, early ’90s at one time or another . . .

Will you continue to watch
Dirty Dancing
?

Oh, yeah. It’s funny because sometimes when flipping channels and it’s on—I get drawn into it. I may even have to be some place and I’ll think to myself, “You really need to get ready to go. You saw this recently. And you have it on DVD—so you really don’t need to watch this on TV right now . . .” But I still get drawn in. I find it hard to turn off.

What do you think about
Dirty Dancing
, the movie being made into a stage production, and do you plan to see the stage production?

I think it would be cool. If it came to Los Angeles, I would go. Right now I have too tight of a schedule to travel all over to see it—but Los Angeles, or maybe some place close enough like Vegas—I’d go see it several times.

What do you think about a
Dirty Dancing
movie sequel?

They did have
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights—
with Jonathan Jackson (his brother, Richard Lee is one of my actors for my films . . .) and they did have the series with Patrick Cassidy (another connection to me—I used to know David and be on the PF set).

Bonanza
has kind of presented some of the same questions—they tried the prequel with
The Ponderosa
and most of the die hard
Bonanza
fans were up in arms . . . They did the sequels . . . and the reviews from fans have been very mixed . . .

So there is good and bad to both sides of prequels and sequels.

I mean, if Patrick could come back as Johnny Castle—maybe he owns his own sort of resort club or something—that could be fun. You know—he pulled himself up from feeling like nobody to being somebody . . .

Do you think that there are similarities between Patrick and the character of Johnny Castle that made the role such a good fit for Patrick?

Well, of course, the dancing. And some of the things they probably went through. Not going through exactly the same things—but I am sure as an actor there were things Patrick could draw on.

In real life—being a male dancer (especially one who was into ballet) was one of the things Patrick always said he had to battle—getting into fights or arguments to prove his “masculinity.” I’m sure you’ve heard it in interviews before or read about it. And you have to remember in the ’60s and ’70s it was a little different than it is today—especially for someone growing up in Texas.

With Johnny Castle, he had to prove to himself he was “worthy.” In life, people always have things they have to deal with to prove something (more to themselves than to the world around them). And of course, everyone is looking for acceptance and a place they feel they belong in this world.

Each had their struggles. Even though some of the struggles Patrick has faced may be different from the ones Johnny has faced—the outcome is more or less the same.

Patrick has a knee injury—something he has had forever—and I remember in the ’80s during
Without A Word
how he would kind of limp around and be in pain—and then go out on stage and perform as though nothing were wrong. I always wondered where he got the strength to do it. But, it’s that passion—you know that driving force that we all have deep inside us. It was as though they were two different people—the one backstage and the one on stage. But that’s what dedication and hard work and passion and belief in something are about.

Even though with “Johnny Castle”—it wasn’t a knee injury—but he still had obstacles to overcome—like when he said, “One month I am eating ju-ju-bes to stay alive—and now women are stuffing $$$”—it’s like his need to survive (food wise, life wise) is sort of like the knee injury vs. the person who has to go on stage and perform. Do you let it knock you down so much that you’re becoming non-functioning or do you overcome it? Whether it’s for survival or from passion for your art—you have to learn to triumph over it. If you don’t, your insides feel like they could die.

Both Patrick and Johnny are “over-comers” and are both people who stand up for something they believe in. And they both prevailed.

As much as it may be overused but “Nobody puts Baby in the corner” wasn’t a line by accident. That was Johnny’s turning point—one who made him realize that some things in life are worth fighting for and that regardless of his social standing, he was worthy.

In many ways, because of the obstacles Patrick faced in his life, and Johnny faced in his—it helped them both come into their own. They each found that acceptance thing we all look for.

Did you notice any changes in Patrick after the success of
Dirty Dancing
?

He’s recognized and accepted more by Hollywood or entertainment standards. But as a person, he seems to be still the same down-to-earth, passionate, caring person he always was. Success hasn’t changed him. The only changes I see are the ones that come with age and learning . . . and that has more to do with wisdom and life’s experiences that help us overcome our demons. But, you could be a school teacher, a lawyer, a waitress, or a housewife and still have things that are only learned with age and experience. I don’t think success has spoiled him any.

Which happened first—
Dirty Dancing
or
Without A Word
? And do you think either project influenced the other?

To be honest, I don’t know. Both, I’m sure were works in progress.
Dirty Dancing
was released in 1987—but I don’t know how long it took them to actually film it, plan it, etc. Funding takes time—and that is something Patrick wouldn’t have been involved in. Many times by the time a movie comes out—two years can go by—even with studio films. Since Patrick didn’t write
Dirty Dancing
, but he did write
Without A Word
, I would say that both his performances were probably influenced by his years of dance experience, but I don’t think one project necessarily influenced the other.

I’m sure
Without A Word
was a lifetime of writing—even if not literally on paper. It is a very personal piece.
Without A Word
did though, as you know, influence
One Last Dance
. Much of it was the same—only it’s like they took the situations and they expanded them. But in
Without A Word
and
One Last Dance
they faced many of the same things—the aging process (the effect dancing has on the body as one grows older), the fear of rejection. In the play, Nicholas Gunn had to face his father—his father didn’t want him to dance; his father had pre-conceived ideas about what being a dancer meant. I thought Lisa did a great job with directing
One Last Dance
—she brought different elements to it that they couldn’t do on stage.

What was it like working on movies and the stage production with which Patrick was involved?

He’s a kind, caring, passionate, gentle soul. Humble is probably another word to describe him. Hollywood is full of egos—but there are a handful that are unique and remain true to their roots and beliefs.

Is there anything else you want to share about your contacts/work with Patrick that would be relevant to this
Dirty Dancing
research project?

I do have a funny story.

I used to do some work for Tommy Howell (fan mail/fan club/merchandizing type work).

I don’t think Patrick knew how big
Dirty Dancing
was going to be. He knew me from working on the play with him (
Without A Word
)—but he also knew I connected up with him through Tommy . . .

One day, I am at my neighbor’s apartment—and one of my roommates had a friend over in our backyard visiting with my other roommates . . .

The phone rings—and you can hear the friend yelling all through the courtyard, “Cheryl—get your butt back here!! You won’t believe who is on the phone for you.”

I go out into the courtyard—and her face is all flushed . . . She goes, “She had me answer the phone because they were doing something else . . .” I was like, “Well who’s on the phone for me?”

She starts screaming, “It’s Patrick Swayze. He’s holding for you—I can’t believe I just answered the phone to Patrick Swayze.”

I go in the house to take the call and my friend is still freaking out running up and down the courtyard screaming.

Anyway, during the short phone conversation, he (Patrick) said, “I asked Tommy what to do—all these girls are writing me letters now and wanting to buy my stuff . . . I’ve never been through this before . . . If they want to buy things, Tommy said I should talk to you—you would know about this kind of thing.”

He was oblivious to if he should start a fan club, sell his photos . . . He never thought
Dirty Dancing
would take off the way it did . . . I think he was shocked (and humbled) he was getting so much attention.”