Patrick Swayze hated Dirty Dancing's most iconic line. Released in 1987, the Emile Ardolino romantic dance film introduced fans to Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey), who falls in love with her dance instructor Johny Castle (Swayze) during a summer holiday at a vacation resort. The blockbuster was both a critical and commercial hit, and over the years it has become a cult favorite thanks to its countless memorable moments. But apparently, arguably Dirty Dancing's most quotable line almost never happened because Swayze didn't like it.
There have been several attempts to cash in on the film's enduring popularity. In 2004, Lionsgate released Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights which had a similar narrative but was set in Cuba during the Cuban Revolution. Dirty Dancing was also adapted to be a stage play, before ABC's made-for-TV remake that was released in 2017. But nothing has quite captured the public the same way the original Johnny and Baby did in the late ‘80s.
Amidst the many unforgettable bits in Dirty Dancing, people are arguably most familiar with the movie's third act. In fact, it has become so iconic that even those who haven't watched the film would recognize it, especially Swayze and Grey's magnificent final dance performance to the tune of "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". Prior to this scene, however, Swayze's Johnny delivers the film's best line: "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," referencing Frances being sidelined at the resort's annual program. The phrase was cheesy and Swayze knew it. In the actor's autobiography The Time of My Life, Swayze noted, "We did a lot of rewriting for the big final scene, but one line that I hated stayed in. I could hardly bring myself to say: ‘Nobody puts Baby in a corner.’ It sounded so corny. But, seeing the finished film, I had to admit it worked. And, of course, it became one of the most quoted lines in the movie.”
More recently, Grey opened up about the topic as well. In a 2021 interview with Yahoo!, she confirmed that Swayze didn't want to say the aforementioned line. The actress said she couldn't blame her Dirty Dancing co-star as she, too, thought that the line was entirely too corny. Unfortunately for them, their objections were overruled by the movie's screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein. Like Swayze, Grey ultimately changed her stance about the iconic Dirty Dancing line after seeing the finished scene, admitting that in the grand scheme of the blockbuster, it actually worked. That being said, there's also an argument that a big part of why the phrase didn't sound as cheesy was because of Swayze's delivery.
Now, a Dirty Dancing sequel film is currently in development, with Grey's involvement, reprising her role as Baby in addition to producing the project. It's uncertain how the movie will address Johnny's absence, considering Swayze's death in 2009 due to pancreatic cancer. It's dubious if the flick will ever top Johnny's "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" phrase as the franchise's best line, however, but the upcoming sequel is welcome to try.