Eleanor Bergstein (born 1938) is an American writer, known for writing and co-producing Dirty Dancing, a popular 1980s film based in large part on her own childhood.[1]
Eleanor Bergstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eleanor Bergstein April 17, 1938 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Subject | American film |
| Spouse |
Michael Paul Goldman
(m. 1966) |
Life and career
editBergstein was born in 1938 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. She has one older sister, Frances, in her Jewish family. Their father, Joseph,[2] was a doctor who left much of the care of the girls to their mother, Sarah. The family spent summers in the luxury resorts Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel in the Catskill Mountains; and, while her parents were playing golf, Bergstein was dancing.[3]
Bergstein was a teenage Mambo queen, competing in local competitions. While at college, she worked as a dance instructor at Arthur Murray dance studios.[4] Bergstein graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1958.[citation needed]
In 1966, she was married to Michael Paul Goldman and worked as a novelist, including Advancing Paul Newman. This novel contains many of the themes of her famous movie. She also tried her hand at scriptwriting and had success with It's My Turn, a film starring Michael Douglas and Jill Clayburgh. During production, the producers cut an erotic dance scene from the script. That sparked Bergstein into writing a more extensive story, focusing on "dirty dancing".
The movie Dirty Dancing was released in theaters in 1987.[5]
In 2004, Bergstein also adapted the movie into a stage version of Dirty Dancing, which became a musical.[6] The show opened in 2004 in Australia.
Works
edit- Dirty Dancing: The Musical, 2004 stage production
- Let It Be Me, 1995 film
- Ex-Lover: A Novel, 1989 novel
- Dirty Dancing, 1987 film
- It's My Turn, 1980 screenplay
- Advancing Paul Newman, 1973 novel
References
edit- ^ Stannard, Lauren. "Behind the Scenes of Dirty Dancing: An Interview with Eleanor Bergstein". Greenwich International Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
- ^ 1940 United States Federal Census
- ^ Ann Kolson: Fairy Tale Without An Ending auf nytimes.com
- ^ Posner, Michael (November 14, 2007). "Dance dirty with me". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- ^ "Interesting Facts about Dirty Dancing | Her Campus". www.hercampus.com. 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
- ^ "To Live & Dialogue in LA: Eleanor Bergstein – Dirty Dancing Screenwriter on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
External links
edit- “A Conversation with Eleanor Bergstein, Writer and Producer of ‘Dirty Dancing,’ on its 30th Anniversary”, Sophie Aroesty, Jewcy, August 28, 2017.
- "Private Dancers", June 15, 2005, The Age
- Dirty Dancing, The E! True Hollywood Story, television documentary, first aired September 3, 2000
- "Dirty Dancing: Baby's Out of the Corner", May 2007, USA Today
- Eleanor Bergstein at IMDb