The time of her life

Milledgeville Resident reflects on her part in the ‘80s hit film ‘Dirty Dancing’

Katherine Lyda is very much Milledgeville’s small-town celebrity. She appeared in one of the most well-known movies of the ‘80s: “Dirty Dancing.” For a week, Lyda performed alongside Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray, having the “time of her life.”

While working for the American Red Cross and attending school at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Lyda came across a newspaper advertisement searching for dancers to appear in a movie which was being filmed nearby. She responded to the call, and was chosen to be in the movie.

In one of the early scenes of the movie, Lyda can be spotted dancing off in the crowd while Patrick Swayze is dancing with his partner Cynthia Rhodes. Lyda was also in the final scene of the movie. While everyone is dancing in the big ballroom, Lyda, wearing a blue dress, throws off her shawl and begins to dance.

“I’m in the last (scene) of the whole movie, and I’m in a blue dress with my mother’s fur, I ran home and got it. I was representing the older people,” Lyda said.

She received $33 a day for her part in the movie. She went to the wardrobe closet and wore the same thing day after day, her blue dress.

“I just came back to the same old dress everyday. They wouldn’t let us wash them or take them home. We just had to wear them over and over. But that was my blue dress.”

The actors were given a call sheet everyday, with the actor’s name, date, lunch time, call number and performance time on it. This is one souvenir that Lyda kept from the set, something she now treasures and keeps in her memory book.

“I still have that sheet, and I am so glad now that I took it. It has the names of all the people who were a part of it. And I just treasure it,” Lyda said.

“I’m in the last (scene) of the whole movie, and I’m in a blue dress with my mother’s fur, I ran home and got it. I was representing the older people. ”

Katherine Lyda, Green Acres resident

She even had the privilege to come into contact with the late Patrick Swayze. She spoke about how great of a man he was.

“I was waiting for a seat and he was right below me. And he just said we appreciate you being here and being a part of the movie,” Lyda said.

Her favorite part of the movie is the swimming scene, where Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey are practicing lifts in the lake.

“It was just so freezing in that water. They were so cold when they were filming. And they were out there forever. I tried to go back and watch (the movie) to see if I can find a part where they look cold, but they just don’t,” Lyda said.

Lyda had a wonderful experience on the set of “Dirty Dancing.”

“I had a great time working on this movie. We all made friends because we would be bored in between filming,” she said.

“Dirty Dancing” wasn’t Lyda’s movie debut, however. She also appeared in a movie that was filmed earlier than “Dirty Dancing.” That film was never released to the public.

“I was in one movie filmed at the Biltmore House,” Lyda said. “The showing of it was ruined when a plane hit an antenna. So we never even got to see the movie.”

Lyda was born and raised in Asheville, N.C., and she moved to Georgia in the ‘90s. She and her late husband have four children: a late son and three girls. One daughter lives in Milledgeville and teaches at a local school.

“I just love it here. It is so pretty, and this is my home,” said Lyda.