Secrets of Dirty Dancing

Published on December 24, 2019 By Chloe Draws

Based on real life

Eleanor Bergstein drew inspiration for Dirty Dancing from her own experiences at the Catskills in the summertime. In the 1960s, Bergstein’s family who hailed from Brooklyn visited the Catskills every summer and her father would take some much needed time off from being a doctor in the city.

Vestron Pictures

During her time there, Eleanor adopted the name ‘Baby’ and it was something that stuck well into her twenties. In addition, the screenwriter had a dance teacher in the resort who was much more experienced than her which is where the idea of Patrick Swayze came from.