Patrick Swayze
For Patrick Swayze, "Dirty Dancing" was the best that could have happened to him career-wise. He went on to star in "Ghost" together with Demi Moore and films like "Point Break" and "Donnie Darko". But he also had some success as a singer - his most popular song is still probably "She's like the Wind" from the "Dirty Dancing" original soundtrack.
Sadly, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008 and passed away in September of 2009. He was only 57 years old...