Emile Ardolino, an Oscar-winning film director whose credits include the hit films "Sister Act" and "Dirty Dancing," has died. He was 50.
Ardolino died Saturday at his Los Angeles home, said Cindy Gilmore, a co-producer at Ardolino Productions. The cause was AIDS, she said.Ardolino, whose film version of the ballet "The Nutcracker" is scheduled for release on Wednesday, was known primarily as a maker of dance films. He produced 28 episodes for the PBS series "Dance in America."
He won an Academy Award for the 1983 documentary "He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'," an account of Jacques d'Amboise's work with children.
Ardolino won an Emmy Award for his direction of "Choreography by Balanchine IV" in the 1978-79 season and a Directors Guild of America Award for another episode that appeared in the 1980-81 season.
His first feature film, "Dirty Dancing," was a huge box office success and made Ardolino a force in Hollywood. The film, which starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, was about a young girl and a street-smart dance instructor who meet at a Catskill hotel.
Ardolino went on to make "Chances Are" in 1988, "Three Men and a Little Lady" in 1990 and "Sister Act," starring Whoopi Goldberg, in 1992.
Born in Queens, Ardolino developed a strong love for Broadway shows as a teenager.