That’s another question I had. I read all over the place—newspaper articles, magazines—after Dirty Dancing came out, a lot more people signed up for dancing lessons.
Yeah, sure. I am quite sure they did. Look at the biggest shows on television. Dancing with the Stars or So You Think You Can Dance. They are marvelous shows, absolutely marvelous. To me especially So You Think You Can Dance. I think you see the most wonderful dancing and most exciting dancing. Dancing with the Stars is also a terrific show which is exciting. It is more publicly doable … the public can do what they’re doing on Dancing with the Stars—the public is inclined to take lessons and learn how to dance. That’s bigger than ever. Bigger than our years because our years were limited to the resorts in the Catskills or Miami Beach or LA. Predominantly, it happened no place else for all those years. It was very, very big in those places. It was the major activity—watching it or taking lessons or you know—all that stuff …
What years would you say that occurred?
The fifties.
I have another question. Why do you think—from your perspective—Dirty Dancing is still so popular? It is on all of the time. People are into it.
You know what Shakespeare said: “The play’s the thing.” It was just a terrific story. Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back …
It really is a formula movie and formulas work. The dancing was simple enough and easy enough for people to associate it with it and say gee, I can do that … There was summer romance.
Just think about it. Jennifer Grey … you know who her father is … She looked terrific in the movie. There was a little bit of sex, but it really wasn’t heavy sex. It just had those little components—those feelings of being away in a hotel and not being around your normal surroundings … It just rang the bell in different directions. You had a villain—the guy who got the girl pregnant. You had a hero—Johnny. He was very attractive in that film. He was most dynamic in that movie—just wonderful. You know with the leather jacket and the collars turned up and the hair popping over—which we looked like.
Really?
To some extent. You’ll see the pictures … Why so popular? It was believable. I think that was it more than anything else … The old couple stealing something.
I heard that was true. That’s another thing, Jackie Horner said you would get blamed for things.
That’s correct … I was a little kid. In fact, I had one woman—she accused me of trying to come on to her, and I mean—she was a season guest, came for years and years, and season guests were like god-fare … Most people came up for the weekend or a week.
There was a stealing thing also?
It wasn’t stealing—it was more I was making advances to her. It was absolutely not true. And she went to Jenny Grossinger, you know the big boss, and tried to get me fired. Lucille stood up for me and I didn’t get fired … I was a sixteen–seventeen year old kid in a highly sophisticated adult world.
There’s a similar issue in the movie. He (Johnny) was becoming a plasterer or something in construction. Well, I wound up in construction. That part of it is true. The dancing afterward at night is very true … The girls and the Baby part is very true—where there were relationships with girls, and girls getting pregnant.
Mr. Schwartz then e-mailed me pictures of himself dancing at Grossinger’s and other Catskills hotels, and other major dance hotels in Miami Beach and LA from about 1953–1957. We looked at the pictures (on our respective computers).
The next one is the Champagne hour … We had a champagne hour every Friday night. We were the show on Friday night. First, we would do some exhibitions. Then we’d have people come up and we’d have a contest—they’d dance different dances and have applause and whoever won got a bottle of champagne. All the hotels did that …
I thought this would give you the flavor of what it was like for Johnny—what his life was like …
Mr. Schwartz asked me to tell him about myself. In the course of the discussion, I told Mr. Schwartz about my involvement in The Official Patrick Swayze International Fan Club. Mr. Schwartz commented that he knew that during the ’40s and ’50s, there were a lot of fan clubs for movie stars.
I didn’t know that still existed.
I don’t think there is another club like this one … Patrick and Lisa personally send pictures and information to the club … Many of the fans are very good friends …
He comes across as a very, very fine young man … He’s such a lovely young man, and I think this [pancreatic cancer] to happen to him is so, so terrible …
We talked some more about various subjects. At the end of the interview, I thanked Mr. Schwartz, and he thanked me because he said it brought back years that were very, very special to him.
WRAP UP OF INTERVIEWS OF MS. HORNER AND MR. SCHWARTZ
Obviously, Ms. Eleanor Bergstein did indeed capture the special time that took place in the Catskills heyday and all of the information that was given to her by all parties involved. Finally, let us not forget that Ms. Eleanor Bergstein also spent summers there.
Per Veronica Lee in her article, “There’s a secret dancer inside us all” (Guardian News and Media, 2006) regarding Dirty Dancing:
“For Bergstein, much of it is autobiographical. ‘I was a teenager in 1963, we were New York Jewish, I was a doctor’s daughter with one older sister and we took holidays in the Catskills … My father practiced in a poor area and charged only a dollar a consultation,’ she says.”
(Me: Now here comes something else to think about pertaining to the creation of the character of Johnny.) Eleanor Bergstein, “So we never had much money. Johnny who comes from the wrong side of the tracks and scratches a living as a dancing teacher represents the ‘otherness I felt.’”11
Three
MOUNTAIN LAKE HOTEL
INTRODUCTION
How can one write a book on Dirty Dancing without visiting the film location at Mountain Lake Hotel in Pembroke, Virginia?
So off I headed to the famous site where the Houseman family pulled up in their car to the main lodge, Johnny entered the dining room and told the college boy where to put the pickle, Penny crouched down crying on the floor in the corner of the kitchen, Baby and Johnny practiced their lift in the lake, Johnny danced with Vivian in the gazebo, and on and on … If only I could have had this idea in the summertime or maybe even spring. No, not me—I ventured out in four below zero weather (January 12–14, 2009) trekking through the snow taking in the sights and atmosphere of Mountain Lake. Mr. H.M. “Buzz” Scanland Jr., General Manager (known as Buzz) at Mountain Lake Hotel was gracious enough to be a host to me for two days showing me the famous spots and archives regarding Dirty Dancing—including a script, pictures, videos, and documents, and most helpful of all telling me stories about all that went on during the filming of Dirty Dancing. I will be forever grateful to Mr. Scanland for his participation in this project.
It was just totally amazing being on the grounds of the property where much of Dirty Dancing was filmed. In a sense, it was very surreal and at the same time, it was like it was meant to be—that I had come home. It was also very bittersweet because I was still so totally blown away by Mr. Swayze’s performance in Dirty Dancing (watched excerpts in the videos there on a big screen) and still so very sad about his illness. (I was glad that I was watching the Dirty Dancing clips by myself, so that I could cry as much as I wanted.) It all came back to me as to how much the movie has done for me and how much of a classic Dirty Dancing has become for me and countless others. First, the movie helped me get over the hurdle of the end of the relationship with my so-called soul mate, and then it became like an old friend in times of need or just a great, feel-good time. Coming to Mountain Lake was like taking one more step of living my dream of writing this book. I can’t resist saying that one of the messages in Dirty Dancing is to go after what you want and stand up for what you believe in. There is a similar message in One Last Dance (the movie written, directed, starred in, and produced
by Ms. Niemi and starred in and produced by Mr. Swayze) which is—it is never too late to make your dreams come true. The essence of these messages really hit home while I was at Mountain Lake.
MOUNTAIN LAKE HOTEL LOCATION INFORMATION
It was obvious from the start that filming in the Catskills was not going to be possible due to budgetary constraints as the filmmakers had to make the movie for under five million dollars. The producers had already found Lake Lure Inn in North Carolina. Then in June 1986, the Dirty Dancing producers saw Mountain Lake Hotel in Pembroke, Virginia in an advertisement in Piedmont Airlines in-flight magazine, and went there and decided to make it the film’s Kellerman’s Resort. The movie was filmed at Mountain Lake from September 5 to September 20, 1986. Most of the exterior scenes were shot there as well as some interior scenes, including the outside of the main lodge, the kitchen, the dining room, the gazebo, the beach, the Houseman cottage (Virginia Cottage), and the lift scene in the lake (shot in about 30 degree weather). Most of the cast stayed at Mountain Lake—at least some of the time. Mr. Swayze stayed in Room 232 and Ms. Grey in Room 513. (See list of guests and room assignments.)
Regarding the history of Mountain Lake, it started out as a resort in around 1857. The stone lodge was built in 1936. The beautiful Mountain Lake 2,600 acreage (of which 2,455 acres are forests) is 4,000 feet above sea level in the Appalachian Mountains in Giles County, Virginia. Per the Mountain Lake Hotel website: “The Mountain Lake Conservancy is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 to help manage and protect the 2,600 acres of Mountain Lake Property and to provide environmental and cultural education to the public … Our mission is to further Mary Moody Northern’s desire to forge bonds between people and nature in Mountain Lake’s unique environment.”12 The natural lake on the property is amazing because of how high up on the mountain it is and also it is one of only two fresh water lakes in the state. The water level is cyclical—high and low depending on how much rain and snowfall occur. In April 2009, the lake was rising again, and by July 2009, it was up to 43’ below full pond. With the snowfall from Winter 2010, the lake is said to be slowly rising again.
I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Mr. H. M. “Buzz” Scanland Jr., General Manager, and Mr. Mike Porterfield, Executive Chef, regarding the filming of Dirty Dancing at Mountain Lake.
BUZZ SCANLAND
January 16 & 17, 2009.
In-person interviews at Mountain Lake Hotel, Pembroke, Virginia.
Introduction: E-mail to me from Buzz, December 4, 2008.
If you have not been here, you should come. Also, have you seen the stage play? I thought it was great. I saw it in Toronto. It is now playing in Chicago and will open next year in Boston. You would not believe how many people come here just because of Dirty Dancing. The weekend before Thanksgiving, we had a Dirty Dancing Weekend and one couple came from England and another couple from Toronto. We get guests for Dirty Dancing from all over the world.
The first part of the interview on January 16th was done while Buzz was driving me to my first visit to Mountain Lake.
What was your position with Mountain Lake when Dirty Dancing was filmed?
I had just come to Mountain Lake. I was doing marketing. My first few weeks on the job were when Dirty Dancing was filmed.
Who in the cast did you have contact with?
I had minimal contact with Jerry Orbach and Jack Weston—like “hi”—that was it.
I met Jennifer Grey once and hadn’t even known who she was. Supposedly, Jennifer’s father, Joel Grey, sent Jennifer flowers every day. I didn’t have any contact with Buddy.
You know, Patrick wanted to be called Buddy.
When Dirty Dancing was being made, did you think it would be a big hit?
No. Nobody did.
While filming, were there guests in the hotel?
Yes, and we had to be careful regarding the noise.
Where did the movie people eat?
They ate where the guests did.
They would bus the extras over and give them lunch and $50.00 for all day.
The first choice for extras was for Jewish people from Blacksburg.
They would pay $100.00 a day for a vintage car to be in the movie.
There was a ’57 Chevy owned by Jan Gilley that was used in the movie. Buddy drove this car.
I’m getting excited! (We were rapidly approaching Mountain Lake.)
Everybody that you talk to has heard of Dirty Dancing.
Of course.
Especially if you’re a young female … and we get a lot of telephone calls. They will ask us, “Is this where Dirty Dancing was filmed?” and we say, “Yeah” … and they’ll say, “This is where I want to come because I’m bringing my wife because she’s into that movie so much.”
Are you trying to tell me that the women like it more than the men?
Oh yeah …
It’s like when I saw it in Toronto—the stage play. The tickets were sent to me … the seats were down front about five or six rows. My two grandsons liked it … This lady was there with her husband … She said, “Well, my husband didn’t think it was such a great play.”
It’s a female movie … no doubt about it … but you get so many guys because their wives are into it, they are into it …
I interviewed one young man whose mom was really into it. She constantly played it in their house. He likes it, but I don’t think he likes it as much as his mom. (I interviewed his mom also.)
You know something, Mallory Longworth … she would never have come here if it wouldn’t have been for a teenage girl who was here with her parents, and she saw we were having a Dirty Dancing weekend. Then she saw an article (in Newsweek) about Mallory. She got on the phone … evidently there are two Mallory Longworths in the Detroit area and on the second phone call, she got a hold of Mallory … and that’s the reason Mallory came down here. (See interview of Mallory Longworth.)
That is amazing!
That little girl is from Virginia. I couldn’t tell you what her name is …
I would love to find out who she is—you know because she was probably fifteen to eighteen then, and now she is thirty-five to thirty-eight—a little bit older. I would love to know what her reaction is towards Dirty Dancing. So you might ask Mallory … Mallory came twice for the Dirty Dancing weekends. (Note: Buzz came up with the idea to have Dirty Dancing weekends.)
We are getting closer …
We are on the backside now …
Snow …
We had somebody come here and stay a week last fall … and I think they were from Italy … and they just came up here because of the movie … Well, it’s nine degrees right now … When I came up this morning, it was eight below …
Well, it sure is pretty … it is beautiful … can’t imagine—you know the summertime …
Oh, my goodness … oh, my goodness …
It’s kind of funny, Miranda Garrison, when she came up here to do the movie, she stayed in one of these cottages … and that is where all of the dancers stayed when they came to make the television series (the UK show Dirty Dancing: The Time of Your Life). Miranda Garrison stayed in 315 …
When they did the television series, we used this house out here … The winners of the dance-off, they would come out here and have a special dinner with champagne and so forth …
Well, it’s gone back to six degrees …
Wow, a regular heat wave … very pretty …
They came in here and showed the hotel …
Oh my gosh.
From this angle—like they were coming to the hotel … and before we widened the road … they really came in the opposite way … it used to be one way around the hotel … you went in on the back side and came out on the front side, but now we widened this road since the movie. Also, these ballers and chains—they put those in to start with, and we have maintained them.
Awesome.
Of course, they parked here—right in front of the hotel.
Yes. “I d
on’t think I brought enough shoes.”
That’s the cottage right over there, and of course, we changed it around. It’s got a stone wall in front of it and the porch used to come off the front of it, and that’s the one the Housemans stayed in. It’s called Virginia Cottage. She (Baby) came out in front of it and came across the lawn … and came up to the hotel.
We went inside to the lobby … Oh, look at the poster!
I have one upstairs too … Somebody gave me that one … You can’t find Patrick Swayze cutouts anymore …
Buzz shows me this huge book that has Dirty Dancing information, and says:
And these are contracts to the movie, and these are some drawings for the sets, the beach …
What are those?
These are the rooms. This is the system. In other words, Jane Brucker … She was in Room 103 … Jerry Orbach was in 117, Jack Weston was in 119, Lonnie Price was in 201 … I’ve got the original where they signed in …
Oh my gosh.
Kenny Ortega, Miranda Garrison, Jennifer Gilbert … every name is twice because the way you do it, the company pays for the room and the incidentals are paid for by the person …
Here’s some more information on where they were staying … Here’s your script …
Oh, my goodness, I can’t believe it.
Here are some pictures that we have … like Jennifer Grey talking to someone …
Oh, my goodness. Who took the pictures?
We probably took them ourselves … See we had a bridge almost similar to the one in North Carolina, and the funny part is we tore it out in between the time they made the movie and when the movie came out. There they are down by the beach …
Everybody has sweaters on.
JANUARY 17, 2009
Why do you think the movie is so popular?
THE FANS' LOVE STORY: How The Movie 'DIRTY DANCING' Captured The Hearts Of Millions! Page 4
