Eleanor Bergstein
Encyclopedia
Eleanor Bergstein is a US writer best known for writing and co-producing the popular 1980s film Dirty Dancing
which was based in large part on her own childhood.
and while her parents were golfing Bergstein was dancing. She was a teenaged Mambo
queen, competing in local "Dirty dancing" competitions and during university she worked as a dance instructor at Arthur Murray
dance studios.
In 1966 she was married to Michael Goldman and worked as a novelist with books such as Advancing Paul Newman. She also tried her hand at scriptwriting and had success with It's My Turn
which became a film starring Michael Douglas
and Jill Clayburgh
. During production the producers cut an erotic dance scene out of the script, sparking Bergstein's idea to write a more extensive story focusing on the "dirty dancing" competitions of her youth.
In 2004 she also created the stage version of Dirty Dancing which opened in 2004 in Australia
to sell-out performances.
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...
which was based in large part on her own childhood.
Biography
Bergstein was born in 1938 in Brooklyn, New York. She has one older sister Frances. Their father was a Jewish doctor, leaving much of the care of the girls to their mother Sarah Bergstein. The family spent summers in the luxury resorts of the Catskill MountainsCatskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
and while her parents were golfing Bergstein was dancing. She was a teenaged Mambo
Mambo (dance)
Mambo .In the late 1940s, Perez Prado came up with the dance for the mambo music and became the first person to market his music as "mambo". After Havana, Prado moved his music to Mexico, where his music and the dance was adopted. The original mambo dance was characterized by freedom and...
queen, competing in local "Dirty dancing" competitions and during university she worked as a dance instructor at Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name....
dance studios.
In 1966 she was married to Michael Goldman and worked as a novelist with books such as Advancing Paul Newman. She also tried her hand at scriptwriting and had success with It's My Turn
It's My Turn (film)
It's My Turn is a 1980 romantic comedy-drama film starring Jill Clayburgh, Michael Douglas, and Charles Grodin.The film was directed by Claudia Weill and written by Eleanor Bergstein...
which became a film starring Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
and Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh was an American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles in An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over.-Personal life:...
. During production the producers cut an erotic dance scene out of the script, sparking Bergstein's idea to write a more extensive story focusing on the "dirty dancing" competitions of her youth.
In 2004 she also created the stage version of Dirty Dancing which opened in 2004 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to sell-out performances.
Works
- Dirty Dancing: The Musical, 2004 stage production
- Let it be meLet It Be Me (film)Let It Be Me is a 1995 musical film starring Campbell Scott, Jennifer Beals, Yancy Butler, Leslie Caron, James Goodwin and Patrick Stewart. It was written and directed by Eleanor Bergstein....
, 1995 film - Ex-Lover: A Novel, 1989, ISBN 0394553063
- Dirty DancingDirty DancingDirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach...
, 1987 film - It's My TurnIt's My Turn"It's My Turn" is a 1980 song used as the theme to the film of the same name. The song, written by Carole Bayer Sager and Michael Masser for Diana Ross, was released as a single and became a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nine.Aretha Franklin recorded the song for her...
, 1980 screenplay - Advancing Paul Newman, 1973 novel, ISBN 067010518X